Solmoe is an important area for Catholics in Korea as it was the birthplace of Korea's first Catholic priest: St. Andrew Kim Dae-geon (聖金大建安德烈). He was from a Catholic family with his great-grandfather, Pius Kim Jin-hu, his uncle, Andrew Kim Jong-han, and his father, Ignatius Kim Je-jun, all martyrs for their faith. The Kim clan produced a total of eleven martyrs.
St. Andrew Kim Dae-geon was born on 21 August 1821 and baptised in 1835 at age 16 by a French priest Pierre Philibert Maubant. He then walked to Macao to study Catholicism and was ordained as a priest in Shanghai by Jean Joseph Ferreol in 1845. He returned to Korea in October 1845 together with Ferreol and priest Marie Nicolas Antoine Daveluy to start his missionary work. He died in September in 1846.
In 1846, he was arrested by Joseon government authorities on Sunwi-do Island, Hwanghae-do and hanged on the Saenamteo execution grounds in Seoul on September 16, 1846 at the age of 25, 13 months his ordination. He was canonised by Pope John Paul II in Seoul in 1984.
The 6th Asian Youth Day in 2014 had its opening mass held at Solmoe on 13 August and Pope Francis met with youth delegates from various Asian areas at Solmoe place in Korea on 15 August for the 6th Asia Youth Day. On 16 August 2014, Pope Francis beatified 124 martyrs in Gwanghwamun (光化門/광화문) of Gyeongbokgung Palace (景福宮/경복궁) in Seoul, and among the 124, 49 are from this coastal Naepo area.
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| Pope Franicis visited Solmoe and Haemi in Naepo |
Reference:
Birthplace of Korean Catholicism, Solmoe. Visit Korea.
http://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Society/view?articleId=119546
2014 Pastoral Visit of Pope Francis to Korea.
http://popekorea.catholic.or.kr/en/schedule/sch-sub01.asp
2014 Asian Youth Day
http://www.ayd2014.org/eng/
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