Holy See–South Korea relations
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Holy See–South Korea relations refers to the relations between the Holy See and the South Korea. Most of the Christian community of South Korea are Protestants but the number of Roman Catholics in the East Asian country is growing in the recent decade. The Catholic population in South Korea is about more than five million, a tenth of the country's population. In 1970s only less than a million are Catholics in South Korea.[1][2]
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History
Historical ties between the Vatican and South Korea can be traced back to 1946 when 1947 when Bishop Patrick Byrne served as an Apostolic Visitor to Korea from 1947 onward. He died in 1950 after he was kidnapped and sent to North Korea during the Korean War. Bishop Thomas Quinlan was also abducted along with Byrne, but he was able to return. Quinlan later served as the second Apostolic Visitor to Korea in 1954.[3]
State visits
In 1984, Pope John Paul II visited South Korea for the first time to attend a ceremony commemorating 200th anniversary of Korean Catholicism. The pontiff made a second papal visit in 1989 to attend the 44th Eucharistic Congress.[3] Pope Francis also made a papal visit to South Korea in 2014 for the beautification of the 124 Korean martyrs and for the sixth Asian Youth Day.[4]
Then Korean President, Kim Dae-jung visited the Vatican in 2000, becoming the first Korean head of state to do so. Presidents Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak also made their visits to the city-state.[3]
See also
References
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