The National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) is a research center for ethnology and cultural anthropology.

Portrait of Kim Dae-Geon

  • KR 0072
  • Seoul, Republic of Korea
Portrait of Kim Dae-Geon

Kim Dae Geon (1822 - 1846) was the first Korean Catholic priest. After graduating from the Paris Foreign Missionary Collegium in Macau, Kim Dae-Geon was engaged in missionary work in Korea from January 1845. In August 1845, he was designated as a father by Bishop Phereol in Shanghai. In September 1845, Father Kim Dae-Geon, Bishop Phereol, and Father Doubrui illegally re-entered Korea for further missionary work. Kim was arrested in June 1846, and was executed in September.

Increase of Christians
Catholicism and Protestantism were brought into Korea in 1784 and 1885 respectively. Although Christianity suffered from oppression during its early days in Korea, it drastically expanded its domain and gained more followers every time Korea experienced hardships, including the civilization movement at the end of the Yi Dynasty, the protective treaty, Korea’s Annexation by Japan, the Korean War following liberation, and the rapid socioeconomic changes in the 1960s and 1970s.
Statue of Dangun-wanggeom | Gutpan | Dissemination of Buddhism |
Clothing for boys and girls for dol | Portrait of Kim Dae-Geon | Jumak (Tavern)
Related link:
Special Exhibition “Seoul Style 2002: Life as It Is with the Lee Family” (March 21 - July 16, 2002)