Biography
Ignatius Kim Che-jun
About Ignatius Kim Che-jun
Ignatius Kim Che-jun was born at Solmoe in Myeoncheon, Chungcheong Province, in 1796. He learned Catholicism from his family and married Ursula Ko. Their son Andrew Kim Tae-gon later became Korea’s first Catholic priest.
Persecution drove the family to move, eventually settling at Golbaemasil near Yongin. After Maubant arrived in Korea, Ignatius received the sacraments and became a catechist. Maubant selected Andrew to study for the priesthood and sent him to Macao.
Ignatius was arrested during the persecution of 1839. The church biography records that he initially denied his religion under pressure, then withdrew the denial and professed Catholicism again. The authorities treated his son’s foreign travel as a further accusation against him.
Ignatius was executed outside Seoul’s Small West Gate on September 26, 1839.
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