One of the most fascinating parts of history is how the Christian faith was brought to Korea and how it grew organically for many centuries.
Typically the Christian faith was brought to a new land through foreign missionaries, often French or Spanish priests who traveled the world spreading the Gospel.
Yet, this is not how Christianity was brought to Korea. In fact, the Church was planted in a very different way that proved to be very successful in the long run.
Founded by a lay person
Christianity started to spread in Korea when a man named Ni-seung-houn went to China to be baptized. The Catholic Encyclopedia provides a brief summary of his remarkable missionary zeal:
In a manner perhaps unique in the annals of the Church, the Faith was introduced there without preaching and before any missionaries had penetrated the country. The educated people, more eager for new knowledge the more their country was jealously closed, procured through the annual embassy to Peking all the books possible upon science, literature, etc. Some Christian books fell into their hands, and, the grace of God aiding, they recognized the truth. One of them, Ni-seung-houn, undertook in 1784 the journey to Peking and was baptized there, under the name of Peter. Upon his return he baptized his companions, who, like himself, were men of learning and high position.
What is even more remarkable is how, "About the year 1794, a Chinese priest, Father Jacques Tjyou, was sent to Korea. Upon his arrival he found about 4,000 faithful."
St. John Paul II commented on this grace-filled event when he canonized a large group of Korean martyrs in 1984. The faith of these lay people was strong enough to endure fierce persecution:
Yearning for an ever greater share in the Christian faith, your ancestors sent one of their own in 1784 to Peking, where he was baptized. From this good seed was born the first Christian community in Korea, a community unique in the history of the Church by reason of the fact that it was founded entirely by lay people. This fledgling Church, so young and yet so strong in faith, withstood wave after wave of fierce persecution. Thus, in less than a century, it could already boast of some ten thousand martyrs.
This truly is an astonishing part of history, one that can still be felt in areas of South Korea, where the Catholic faith is strong.
The story of Christianity in Korea reminds us that we can all become missionaries, and don't have to wait for priests or religious to do the work for us. We are all called to holiness and to invite our neighbor into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ inside the Catholic Church.
