Kim Geon-sun (金建淳, 1776 – 1 June 1801) was a scholar of late Joseon and the only Catholic believer and martyr from the Noron faction.1 His baptismal name was Jacob (Yosapat). He was a leader of the early Catholic faith community in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. Although he was adopted into a main line family, his conversion to Catholicism drew criticism from his clan. He was martyred during the Sinyu Persecution of 1801, and after his execution he was stripped of his status as head of the main line. His collected writings include the Treatise on Heaven and Hell (天堂地獄論).
Life
Early life
His courtesy name was Jeonghak (正學) and his pen name was Gagyul (嘉橘).2 He belonged to the Andong Kim lineage. He was the seventh-generation descendant of Kim Sang-heon (金尙憲, pen name Cheongeum), a member of a Noron family, and the son of Kim I-gu (金履九). Born in Seoul, he was adopted into a main line family in Yeoju County, Gyeonggi Province, but in 1797 he met the Chinese priest Zhou Wenmo (周文謨), received baptism under his guidance, and entered the Catholic Church. His entry into Catholicism drew criticism from his clan.
At the age of nine he had already mastered Daoist learning, and at fourteen he read Catholic books that were in his family's possession, such as the Gi-in Sipyeon (畸人十篇), Jindo Jajeung (眞道自證), Gyoyo Seoron (敎要序論), and Manmul Jinwon (萬物眞原), and wrote the Treatise on Heaven and Hell. Afterward he thoroughly read the Confucian classics, histories, philosophers, and anthologies, as well as Buddhist, Daoist, and military texts.
Entry into Catholicism
He associated and debated with the Southern faction scholar Kwon Cheol-sin (權哲身, Ambrosius), who lived in Yanggeun (陽根) in Gyeonggi Province, discussing the Family Rituals of Zhu Xi. When his adoptive father died when he was eighteen, he refused to follow the funeral rites of the Family Rituals, arguing that they did not fit, and he wrote and presented defenses against scholar-officials who criticized him. Southern faction scholar Yi Ga-hwan (李家煥) read his defense of Catholicism and praised it highly. Not only was he famed for his learning, but he was also known for his gentle character, deep filial piety, and generous charity to others, so people believed he would attain a high official post.
Through his association and debate with Kwon Cheol-sin, Yi Ga-hwan, and others, he came to understand the doctrines of Catholicism in detail, and around the eighth lunar month of 1797 he met the Chinese priest Zhou Wenmo and held an interview with him, after which he became firmly convinced to join the Catholic Church. At first he built relationships with Yi Jung-bae (李中培, Martinus) and others, and once planned to meet missionaries in Beijing, China, learn Catholic doctrine from them, and bring it to Joseon for wide dissemination. When he met Father Zhou Wenmo, he learned Western military knowledge and warship construction from him, and on that basis he explained a plan to avenge the humiliation of the Manchu invasions.
After returning home from meeting the priest, he transmitted Catholicism to Yi Jung-bae, Yi Hui-yeong (李喜英, Lucas), Won Gyeong-do (元景道, John), and others. Then in November of that year, Kang I-cheon of the Soebuk faction was arrested and escorted for spreading the "Island Military Rumor" (海島兵馬說), charged with fabricating false rumors. Kim Geon-sun, who had been close to him across factional lines, was implicated, arrested together with him, and escorted to the Board of Punishments. However, through the special grace of King Jeongjo, he was soon able to be released.3
Missionary activity
Under the guidance of Father Zhou Wenmo, he received baptism (on 8 July 1799 by the solar calendar, 6 June by the lunar calendar) and became a believer. Afterward he took the lead in evangelization following the teachings of the Church, and together with Jeong Yak-jong (丁若種, Augustinus) he began writing the Seonggyo Jeonseo (聖敎全書), which systematically yet simply explained the doctrine; this work was interrupted by the persecution. His entry into Catholicism drew criticism from his clan. At this time his natural father and elder brother tried by every means of persuasion, threats, and enticement to stop him from practicing the Catholic faith and to make him renounce it, but they failed.
Sinyu Persecution
When Queen Dowager Jeongsun, who was acting as regent for King Sunjo (who had ascended the throne in 1800), issued an edict strictly prohibiting Catholicism (22 February 1801 by the solar calendar, 10 January by the lunar calendar),4 he was arrested (28 April 1801, 16 March by the lunar calendar) shortly after Father Zhou Wenmo surrendered himself (24 April 1801, 12 March by the lunar calendar), and was taken to the Uigeumbu. Under interrogation he tried to assert that he was not a Catholic believer, and in confrontation with Father Zhou Wenmo he at first claimed he had never seen him; he even denied the fact of his baptism. Nevertheless, on 1 June 1801 (20 April by the lunar calendar) he was beheaded outside Seosomun (the Sinyu Persecution of 1801).
Hwang Sa-yeong (黃嗣永) later called him a martyr in the Hwang Sa-yeong Silk Letter, and Claude Charles Dallet also describes him as a martyr in his History of the Korean Church (한국 천주교회사).
"When he was executed, he said to the people: 'All worldly offices and honors are empty and false. I too had some reputation and could have held office, but because it is empty and false, I abandoned it and did not take it. Only the holy teaching of God is utterly true, and for it I do not refuse death. You should also understand this meaning carefully.' He was then beheaded and died a martyr. At that time he was twenty-six years old, and all the people of the capital lamented him." (Hwang Sa-yeong Silk Letter)
After the execution, his clan stripped him of his status as head of the main line.1
Family
- Seventh-generation ancestor: Kim Sang-heon (金尙憲)
- Sixth-generation ancestor: Kim Gwang-chan (金光燦)
- Great-great-grandfather: Kim Su-hang (金壽恒)
- Great-grandfather: Kim Chang-eop (金昌業)
- Grandfather's father: Kim Sin-gyeom (金信謙)
- Grandfather: Kim Yang-haeng (金亮行)
- Father: Kim I-gu (金履九)
- Mother: Lady Yu of Gyeye (杞溪兪氏)
- Sons: Kim Yun-geun (金潤根), Kim Ik-geun (金謚根)
Works
- Treatise on Heaven and Hell (天堂地獄論)
References
Notes