SEOUL (UCAN): The film, Birth, about Korea’s first Catholic priest and martyr, St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, hit screens across the South Korea on November 30 to mark his 200th birth anniversary.
The film is co-produced by the Korean Catholic Cultural Centre and is written and directed by Korean filmmaker, Park Heung-Shik. Korean actor, Yoon Shi Yoon, played the role of St. Andrew Kim.
Prior to its launch in South Korea, the movie had its grand premiere at the new Synod Hall at the Vatican on November 16. On the same day, Pope Francis met the cast and crew in the audience room in Pope Paul VI Hall.
“It is a blessing to study the life of a beautiful Christian, Father Kim Tae-gon, who was beautiful as a human being,” Pope Francis said during the audience, the Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation reported.
The movie is set against the backdrop of the Opium War, and traces Andrew Kim’s study in Macau, crossing the sea aboard the ship Raphael, his land entry to erstwhile Manchuria in north-eastern China, and the sea entry through Baengnyeong Island.
Our saint believed that every person’s life was precious and should be cherished. Andrew Kim was a pioneer of human dignity, spreading the truth that all men and women are equal and have the same dignity, in a caste-ordered society…
Father Lee
During the event at Vatican, the film’s director, Park, expressed hope that “many people will watch the movie and revive Father Dae-gun Kim in their hearts.”
Choo Kyu-ho, the South Korean ambassador to the Vatican, who was present during the premiere, felt that the movie raised questions on “the issue of freedom and human dignity” which was “a serious task that the people of the world must solve based on brotherhood even today.”
Father Paolo Lee Yongho, the rector of the Solmoe Shrine, the birthplace of St. Andrew Kim, believes that human dignity was the driving force behind the priest martyrs mission in Korea, Fides reported.
“Our saint believed that every person’s life was precious and should be cherished. Andrew Kim was a pioneer of human dignity, spreading the truth that all men and women are equal and have the same dignity, in a caste-ordered society,” Father Lee said.
“This truth is still relevant in a society that pushes the capitalist economic and social system and its inequalities to the extreme. This leads to a culture of disregard for human life,” he added.
…the life of St. Andrew Kim through the movie was ‘an opportunity for the Korean Church to rediscover and update a message that can still say a lot to the modern world’
The Paris Foreign Missions Society chose Andrew Kim and two other young men in response to local Catholics’ desire to have Korean priests, Father Lee explained.
Father Lee also pointed out that St. Andrew Kim was “a man of openness, not closure” and promoted the need for academic and cultural exchanges for a better world. He was well versed in western languages and drew a map denoting place names using the western alphabet, of the Joseon Kingdom. He is also considered the first to write the name of the capital of the Joseon Kingdom with the correct name of “Seoul.”
Father Lee remarked that recounting the life of St. Andrew Kim through the movie was “an opportunity for the Korean Church to rediscover and update a message that can still say a lot to the modern world”
Born in 1821 and martyred in 1846, the first Korean priest was the son of Christian converts and is now the patron saint of clergy in Korea. His father, Ignatius Kim, was martyred during the persecution of 1839 as was Paul Chong Hasang, a lay apostle, who died at the age of 45. They, seven French missionaries who were martyred in the 19th century, were canonised by Pope St. John Paul II during his 1984 visit to South Korea,.
The filming of the movie began on 6 December 2021, covering numerous historical locations such as Nonsan, Taean, Boryeong, Danyang, Pyeongchang, Yoesu, Buan, Munyeong, and Daegu.
Additionally, some of the scenes were also filmed in provinces such as North Chungcheong, Gangwon, South Jeolla, Gyoneggi, and Jeju Island.
