Martyr or Invader?

Abstract

Martyr is the title given to someone who has died for the sake of their faith. However, the dead cannot speak about their own death. Judgments on behalf of the dead are inevitably done by the living, posthumously. In this sense, martyr-making is the politics of the death operated by the living. Taking this perspective of martyr-making, this paper seeks to reassess the martyr-making process in the Protestant Church in Korea (PCK), focusing on the case of Rev. R. J. Thomas's death in Korea in 1866. Some argue that Thomas, with his original desire to be a missionary and his contribution in providing the Bible to native Koreans, is the first Protestant martyr in Korea. However, others contend, with the viewpoint of decolonization, that his approach, which appeared invasive, cannot be justified, even though he himself identified as a missionary. Even the ambiguity of his death prevents him from being called a martyr. Given that the process of martyr-making or unmaking inevitably involves potential politicization by specific living authorities who interpret and designate individuals as martyrs, this paper explores the trends of martyr-making in the PCK, where political and religious ideologies are deeply intertwined.