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Saint Agatha Kwon Chin-i
Image: Alexjes98 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Saint Agatha Kwon Chin-i

Young Korean laywoman beheaded at Danggogae in 1840 during the Gihae persecution

Rank
Saint
Kind
Martyr, Layperson
Life
1820 – 1840
Era
19th century
Feast
20 September
Countries
South Korea
South Korea

Life story

Agatha Kwon Chin-i was born around 1820 into a Catholic family; her mother, Magdalene Han Yong-i, was also martyred, on 29 December 1839. According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea she married at about twelve or thirteen, but her husband was too poor to support her, so she lived with relatives. She later kept house for a Chinese priest who was visiting Korea, and at her request he had the marriage annulled so that she could live as a virgin.

In 1839 the Korean court launched the Gihae persecution against the Catholic community. She was arrested together with Agatha Yi Kyong-i and others, and they were held under guard in Seoul. One account says sympathetic guards helped them escape, but a servant girl who was recaptured revealed where they were hiding, and they were arrested again; the guards who had helped them were punished.

At their hearings the two women were beaten severely but would not renounce their faith. On 31 January 1840 she was beheaded at the Danggogae execution ground, now in Seoul's Yongsan district, along with Agatha Yi Kyong-i and other Catholics. On 6 May 1984 Pope John Paul II canonized her in Seoul among the 103 Korean martyrs. The shared feast of the group falls on 20 September.

Works and witness

  • Arrested in the Gihae persecution of 1839
  • Endured beatings and interrogation without renouncing her faith
  • Beheaded at Danggogae, Seoul, on 31 January 1840
  • Canonized on 6 May 1984 with 102 other Korean martyrs

Saints from the same country

The 103 Martyrs of Korea, Saint John Yi Yun-il, Saint Barbara Choe Yong-i, Saint Agatha Yi Kyong-i

References

  • Encyclopedia.com, “Korea, Martyrs of, Ss.” (New Catholic Encyclopedia) – Agatha Kwon Chin-i: housewife, died 31 January 1840, age 21, beheaded at Danggogae; group canonization 6 May 1984
  • Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, “103 Korean Martyr Saints” (english.cbck.or.kr, archived) and Catholic Online – marriage, annulment, escape and recapture (read through the Wikipedia article that cites them)
  • Catholic Culture, “Stories of the Korean Martyrs” – background of the Gihae persecution; contains no entry for Agatha Kwon

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.