A married Korean laywoman, known by the nickname Kop-ch’u, martyred in a Seoul prison in 1839 at about sixty-nine years old.

Saint Lucia Kim, known by the nickname Kop-ch’u, was a married Korean laywoman who died a martyr’s death in a Seoul prison in September 1839 at about sixty-nine years old. Her advanced age at death, unusual among the many young martyrs of this persecution, suggests she may have died from the harsh conditions of imprisonment as much as from direct execution.

Quick Facts

• Born: c. 1770, Korea
• Died: September 1839, Seoul Prison, South Korea
• Beatified: 1925
• Canonized: 1984
• Feast Day: September 20 (with the Korean Martyrs)

Who Was Saint Lucia Kim “kop-ch’u”?

Lucia Kim, distinguished from others of the same common name by the nickname Kop-ch’u, was a married laywoman of the Korean Catholic community who died in prison in Seoul in September 1839, during the same Gihae persecution that claimed dozens of her fellow believers. Her death at nearly seventy years old shows that this persecution spared no age group among the faithful.

Historical Setting

The 1839 persecution’s use of prolonged imprisonment, alongside outright execution, meant that many Catholics, including older or weaker individuals like Lucia, died from the harsh conditions of confinement — overcrowding, hunger, and mistreatment — even without a formal death sentence being carried out. Korean martyrology carefully records such prison deaths as martyrdoms alongside public executions.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Lucia Kim “kop-ch’u”

The Church remembers Lucia Kim Kop-ch’u as a witness to how persecution could claim the elderly and the physically vulnerable as surely as the young, through the grinding conditions of imprisonment rather than dramatic public execution alone. Her memory stands alongside her many named companions from the same persecution.

Canonization and Feast Day

Lucia Kim Kop-ch’u was beatified in 1925 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984 as part of the Korean Martyrs. Their shared feast is celebrated on September 20.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Lucia’s death from the grinding hardship of imprisonment, rather than a single dramatic act, reminds us that martyrdom often took slow and painful forms as much as sudden ones. Her example calls us to remember and pray for all who suffer for their faith today in prisons and under harsh confinement.

A Prayer to Saint Lucia Kim “kop-ch’u”

Saint Lucia Kim, who suffered in a Seoul prison for your faith, remember before God all who suffer imprisonment today for the sake of Christ. Amen.

Sources

• Vatican.va
• EWTN