Early Catholicism in Korea

Apart from the religious aspects, Catholicism also made other contri-butions to Korea.

For instance, it was the first to officially recognize and even popularize hangul (the Korean writing, pictured), at a time where only Chinese characters were officially recognized and mastered only by the aristocratic class.

In the 1860s, Catholic hymns and translated texts defending Catholicism and its doctrines were written and printed in hangul in large numbers. They were said to have contributed to the development of Korean literature.

In the latter half of the 19th century, the church even issued orders to believers to teach their children hangul, wrote Cho Kwang (The Meaning of Catholicism in Korean History, Translated by Ch'oe Mi-hwa, in The Founding of Catholic Tradition in Korea, Ed. Chai-Shin Yu, Asian Humanities Press 2004).

Catholicism had also introduced for the first time a concept which was unheard of during the late Chosun dynasty - "the possibility of a new political system in which the ruler could be selected."

The system of selecting the Pope was said to have "dealt a considerable shock to the ruling class of that time", who in turn responded by deriding Catholicism as "a religion without a king."

The Catholic doctrine had also influenced eminent scholars such as Chong Yak-yong who in a dissertation opposed the existence of hereditary kings and appointment of officials on the basis of blood ties.

"In other words, he made it clear that all who held public posts should be deprived of their positions unless they won popular approval," wrote Cho.

Overall, Catholicism was rejected by the ruling elites who dismissed it as a "foreign import."

But a movement demanding cultural opening argued that if that was the case, why did the Koreans used Chinese characters which was also a foreign import.

"They also pointed out that Buddhist thought and Taoist thought were not native to Korea but had their origin in China or Central Asia. Pointing out also that many things foreign in origin were used daily in life, they asked why Catholicism was rejected while Buddhism was recognized."

I think the simple answer about acceptance or otherwise lies in whether or not the doctrine/teachings in question were a threat to the authorities' hold on power.