Biography
Martha Kim Song-im
About Martha Kim Song-im
Martha Kim Song-im came from Bupyeong. After her first marriage ended, she moved to Seoul and married a blind fortune-teller. She learned Catholic teaching from someone in that household.
After her companion died, Catholics helped her find accommodation. She worked in their homes and became more committed to religious practice.
During the persecution of 1839, she stayed in a household with Theresa Yi Mae-im and other Catholic women. After hearing about imprisoned Catholics who had remained faithful, they decided to present themselves to the authorities. Martha refused to abandon her religion despite severe punishment at the police and criminal courts.
The bishops’ conference account notes that seeking arrest was outside the Church’s ordinary rules.
She was executed with seven other Catholics outside Seoul’s Small West Gate on July 20, 1839.
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