Andrew kim taegon biography of abraham
Sts andrew kim tae-gŏn, paul chŏng ha-sang, and companions!
THE STORY OF SAINT ANDREW KIM TAEGON
Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gon is known as Korea’s first Roman Catholic priest.
Andrew kim taegon biography of abraham
Born into a family of Christian converts at a time of unprecedented governmental opposition to Christianity (Christian teachings threatened the hierarchical system of Confucianism and ancestor worship), Kim and his family led lives of deprivation and hardship.
Although there were repeated efforts made by the Korean monarchy (who feared European colonization of Korea through Christianity), to uproot the religion of the barbarian foreigners from 1794 to 1866, converts to Christianity continued to increase.
After being baptized at the age of 15, Kim travelled over 1200 miles in 1836 to study at a seminary in the Portuguese Colony of Macau, China.
He returned to Korea through Manchuria. That same year, he crossed the Yellow Sea to Shanghai, where he was ordained a priest in 1845 by the French Bishop, Jean Ferréol. He then returned to Korea to preach and evangelize.