Kim Beom-u (金範禹1, May 22, 1751 – September 14, 1787) was a late Joseon-period interpreter, the first Catholic in Joseon, and a victim of Catholic persecution. His baptismal name was "Thomas." In 1785, he was punished in the Myeongnyebang incident, in which Namin scholars including Yi Byeok, Yi Seung-hun, and Jeong Yak-yong were discovered gathering at his house to worship and study doctrine. He was exiled to Danyang, where he died.2
During his lifetime he provided his house as the venue for regular meetings. On the site of his house, Myeongdong Cathedral, which represents Korean Catholicism, was built in Seoul in 1898.3456
Early life
He was born into the family of Kim Ui-seo, an interpreter. In 1773 (the 39th year of King Yeongjo), he passed the interpreters' Gwangyeongsi examination and became Hanhak Ueobyeol Jubu, a junior sixth-rank official. He loved learning and was close to Yi Byeok. Through that connection, when Yi Byeok first preached Catholicism in 1784, Kim entered the faith at his recommendation.7 After being baptized by Yi Seung-hun, he converted his two younger brothers and held Catholic meetings frequently at his house, becoming a fervent believer.2 He also converted several people, both commoners and yangban, including members of his own interpreter family.
Myeongnyebang Incident
Myeongnyebang community
Yi Seung-hun was baptized in Beijing under the baptismal name "Peter" by missionaries who were ministering in the Chinese Catholic Church6, and he returned in April 1784. After his return, he and Seongho school scholars who associated with him studied and discussed for several months the various Catholic doctrinal books that had been given to him by missionaries in Beijing.8 Afterward, through a baptismal ceremony, he organized the first Catholic liturgical community in Korea, and by holding regular meetings to systematically teach the members (believers) of that community, the Catholic Church was established on the Korean Peninsula.9 Kim Beom-u participated in the founding of the Catholic Church and was baptized by Yi Byeok at his house that autumn.
Soon, dozens of people including Choi In-gil were baptized and joined, and as the number of believers gradually increased, a larger venue became necessary. Kim Beom-u offered his house as the meeting place. Thus, the meeting place was moved to Kim Beom-u's house near Jingogae in front of Jangakwon, not far from Supyogyo Bridge. Because this site belonged administratively to Myeongnyebang (present-day Myeongdong) in Hanseong, scholars today call the faith community of Catholic believers at that time the "Myeongnyebang community."8
Arrest and exile
In March 1785, while holding a faith meeting at his house in Myeongnyebang (Myeongdong) in Seoul with more than ten people including Yi Seung-hun and Jeong Yak-yong, he was arrested by police officers who were patrolling for gambling and night watch, after being reported by neighbors, and taken to the Board of Punishments (Chujo).10 This is the so-called Eulsa Chujo Incident. Yi Byeok, Yi Seung-hun, and Jeong Yak-yong, who were taken away with him, were all yangban and were released.10 For reference, immediately after the incident the yangban members recanted, but some later returned to the faith. However, Kim Beom-u was imprisoned because, as the owner of the house that provided the meeting place, he was of jungin (middle-class) status. The Minister of the Board of Punishments, Kim Hwa-jin, tortured Kim Beom-u and pressed him to renounce his faith. Yet, even while being tortured, Kim refused to renounce, saying, "There are many good things in Western learning, and I do not know what is wrong."4
Meanwhile, Gwon Il-sin, Yi Yun-ha, Yi Chong-eok, Yi Jeong-seop, and others who had been released went to the Board of Punishments and protested, demanding the return of the confiscated sacred images and objects, which caused a stir.10 When this became known outside, some Confucian scholars, including Yi Yong-seo and Jeong Suk, circulated anti-heterodoxy circulars calling for the rejection of Catholicism, and submitted memorials demanding that these people also be punished. In response, King Jeongjo concluded the incident by exiling only Kim Beom-u to Danyang in Chungcheong Province. The Board of Punishments burned all the books that Kim Beom-u had owned in the courtyard of the Board and circulated an edict across the country prohibiting Western learning. This became the first official document openly attacking and banning Catholicism.7
Death
Kim Beom-u lived in exile in Danyang, Chungcheong Province, for two years and died in 1786.3 However, because he had not renounced his faith, he openly urged people in his place of exile to hold to Catholicism, and "he recited prayers aloud and taught everyone who wished to hear him," as recorded by Claude-Charles Dallet in his book History of the Church of Korea. Eventually, Kim's illness worsened due to the aftereffects of torture, and he died of illness in 1787 at Danyang, his place of exile, becoming the first victim in Joseon related to a Catholic incident.
After his death, his descendants also became martyrs for their Catholic faith. During the Sinyu Persecution (1801), Kim Beom-u's sixth half-brother Kim Yu was interrogated and died while being subjected to flogging, and his seventh half-brother Kim Hyeon-u was executed by beheading and became a martyr. Because the house in Myeongnyebang where Kim Beom-u lived was the site of the first Catholic worship place, the historical significance of which led to the construction of Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul on that site today.111213
Controversy
It has been claimed that Kim Beom-u's place of exile was not Danyang in Chungcheong Province but Miryang in Gyeongsang Province, and accordingly the Busan Diocese of the Catholic Church carried out projects related to Kim Beom-u. However, recent studies and materials have revealed that this is not true. In 1985, Kim's descendants announced that, while confirming the tomb area of Kim's descendants together with local historian Ma Baek-rak and others, they had discovered Kim Beom-u's grave through the testimony of a descendant. Afterward, the Busan Diocese argued that Kim Beom-u's place of exile was not Danyang in Chungcheong Province but Danjang in Miryang and carried out a sanctification project for Kim Beom-u's tomb area and related sites. However, many people expressed concern about this announcement and project from the outset.
First, the fact that Kim Beom-u's place of exile was Danyang in Chungcheong Province is clearly and consistently stated in the official documents and church historical records of the time, so it is unreasonable to claim that the "Danyang" recorded in Chinese characters and Latin at the time was wrong. Bishop Daveluy, who compiled records of the martyrs of the Korean Catholic Church, clearly states in his 1858 "Memorandum on Korean Martyrs" that Kim Beom-u's place of exile was "Danyang (Taniang) at the eastern end of Chungcheong Province." Moreover, at the time of Kim Beom-u's exile, the place name Danjang did not even exist. In addition, the notation of places of exile in the Joseon period used the names of administrative districts, so it is impossible to record a small village-level name such as Danjang as a place of exile.
Furthermore, it has been revealed through recent studies that the tomb in Miryang said to be Kim Beom-u's is highly unlikely to be his, and that its location is also not in Miryang.
Footnotes
This article includes content based on the Global World Encyclopedia distributed under the GFDL or CC-SA license by Daum Communications (now Kakao).
Footnotes