Saint Barbara Ko Sun-i

Saint Barbara Ko Sun-i (1798–December 29, 1839) was a Korean Catholic martyr and saint. She was the daughter of Ko Kwang-song, a Korean martyr who died in 1801. At the age of 18, she married Augustine Pak Chong-wŏn, with whom she had three children. Barbara Ko assisted her husband in charitable work, taught catechumens, and cared for the sick. When her husband was imprisoned during the persecution of Christians, she decided to turn herself in to the authorities, but was arrested on October 27, 1839, before she could do so. She was tortured several times in an attempt to force her to renounce her faith. On December 29, 1839, she was beheaded in Seoul at the execution site outside the Small West Gate, alongside six other Catholics: Barbara Cho Chŭng-i, Magdalene Han Yŏng-i, Peter Ch’oe Ch’ang-hŭb, Benedicta Hyŏng Kyŏng-nyŏn, Elizabeth Chŏng Chŏng-hye, and Magdalene Yi Yŏng-dŏk. Her husband was executed a month later. Her feast day is September 20, as part of the group of the 103 Korean Martyrs. She was beatified along with her husband on July 5, 1925, by Pope Pius XI and canonized on May 6, 1984, in Seoul by Pope John Paul II as one of the 103 Korean Martyrs.