The Story of How South Korea's First Saint Found Himself in Bocaue

In the 19th century, a Korean priest by the name of Andrew Kim-Taegon found refuge in Bocaue, Bulacan after fleeing a Korean empire that wasn't built for Catholics.

During the Joseon Dynasty, Christianity, suffice it to say, wasn't popular in Korea. See, the state ideology of the Joseon dynasty was Confucianism and even Joseon kings would follow some Buddhist values. Christianity was strongly suppressed and some priests and believers were even persecuted. But Catholic Christians in pocket corners of Joseon society persisted.

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Who Is Saint Andrew Kim? 

Born on August 21, 1821, Kim was raised in Tangjin-gun County, South Korea. Interestingly, St. Andrew's father, St. Ignacio Kim Che-jun is another Korean saint. His great-granddad was Blessed Pio Kim Jin-hu. All of them are martyrs. There was actually a secret Korean Catholic community that was thriving then. This, even without the official presence of an institution and even with priests in hiding.

At the age of 15, Kim's dad and his siblings were executed because of their beliefs. He would wound up in Macao, where he would study with Catholic priests. Territorial conflicts with China, as well as continued persecution in Korea would force him to go to the Philippines at just 16 years old.

Bocaue opened a church dedicated to the Korean saint (locally known as San Andres Kim). A construction project that began six years prior, St. Andrew Kim–Taegon Parish honors an entry from the saint's diary: he was said to have spent time in Hacienda de Lolomboy. In Lolomboy, the church is known as a Korean temple. At first glance, it mimics motifs often seen in East Asian temples. Kim was said to have enjoyed his time in the area.

At the time, it was the Dominican friars who took care of such from 1830 to 1841. Saint Kim was said to have viewed it as a “quiet place of prayer and conducive for retreats.”

The saint’s formator would even write in a letter translated from Latin: “Although we were quite well in Manila, we are still much better here. We are alone, no one disturbs us, and we do not interfere with anyone. We study as much as we want.”

He would live in Lolomboy in 1837, 1839, and 1841. Kim would stand together with his Dominican counterparts, studying and praying. Being an interpreter, he was fluent in English, Spanish, Mandarin, and French, and would lend his services when need be. It was also here that he would receive the grave news that his father was executed while he was away.

From there, he would move to Macao to further his learning, eventually becoming ordained as a priest in 1844. He would then move on to Shanghai in China, where Kim would join French missionaries on their way to Joseon to spread Christianity in Korea. On August 17, 1845, he officially became the first Korean priest in history. He would make his official return to Korea in October of that same year as part of a mission to evangelize.

Unfortunately,  Kim would be arrested and imprisoned in Seoul. State officials would categorize him as a traitor and the ringleader of the "heretical sect." He was arrested on the charges of spreading foreign religion, and working with foreigners to go against the Korean empire.

The Korean priest would subsequently be sentenced to death. The story goes that Kim was tortured and repeatedly asked, "Are you Catholic?" Each time, he stood firm and answered with an emphatic yes. Kim would be beheaded on September 16, 1846. Saint Andrew Kim was only 25 years old.

(Sidebar: the Korean priest also had a companion named Thomas Choe Yang-eop. He stayed with Kim in Lolomboy, as well, but only for about a month. He would find himself in Macao later on, too. When he heard the news of Andrew Kim's death, he went on to focus on ministering Korean Catholics before dying of typhoid at the age of 40 in 1861.)

To spread the word of his demise, the state would have his head displayed atop a bamboo spike for three days. This would serve as a warning directed at Catholics in the country.

The story of his martyrdom would, of course, spread throughout the Catholic world. In 1925, Pope Pius XI hailed Kim as Blessed. By 1984, he would be proclaimed a saint together with 91 other Korean laity. This, of course, included his father and great-grandad plus other French priests on the same mission.

A statute inscribed with “S. Andreas Kim Taegon” (his Latin name) stands on an outdoor wall near the local shop in the Vatican Museums. Kim's life has also been adapted into literature and film. His biopic, A Birth, was shown in the Vatican’s New Synod Hall. Likewise, Kim's life was portrayed in a 30-episode radio drama in 2021. It would air on Daejeon’s Catholic Peace Broadcasting Center.

His feast day is listed on September 20. Bocaue opens up its churches to all visitors in the Philippines during that day.

In South Korea, Catholics remain in the minority, although it should be noted that the population has risen by as much as 50 percent over the past two decades. San Andres Kim's canonization and beatification have served as a reminder of the martyrs lost in the 18th and 19th centuries in the nation. In 2015, Pope Francis beatified hundreds of them upon his visit.

The Convent Shrine of St. Andrew Kim Tae-Gon is at 623 Mendoza St., Lolomboy, Bocaue.