Yi Sung-hun

Yi Sung-Hun (이승훈 in Korean, baptismal name Peter) is an early Roman Catholic martyr in Korea. He was born in 1756 in Seoul to a high Korean official. He came into contact with Catholicism via Yi Byuk in 1779. He accompanied his father on a diplomatic mission to Beijing, China, and was baptised in spring, 1784. This was the first time that a member of the Korean yangban class was formally baptised as a Christian and he returned to Korea with books, crucifixes, and other Catholic artifacts.

As there were yet no formally ordained priests in Korea, Yi baptised other early Korean Catholics, and various leading Korean laymen, including Jeong Yak-yong, Choi Chang-Hyon, Yi Tan-won, began acting as "temporary clerics" (임시준성직자단). In 1789, however, the Korean Catholics were informed by the bishop in Beijing that such practices were contrary to Church teachings and that they should cease such practices. Thus, there would be no ordained priest in Korea until 1795, when Chinese priest Zhu Wenmiao arrived, at which time the Church had grown to over 4000 members.

In 1801, the Korean Catholic Church was subject to the first major repression by the government (신유박해) in which more than 300 were killed. Yi was martyred by beheading on the 26th of the 2nd lunar month (April 8), 1801.

External links

* [http://www.chonjinam.or.kr/korea/hist/1-2-1.html Korean site on early Korean Catholic martyrs]