고대 로마제국 순교와 20세기 한국의 순교사 비교 = A Comparative Study on the Similarities of Martyrdom in the Ancient Roman Empire and S. Korea in the First half of the 20th Century

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper is to compare the accounts of martyrdom within the ancient Roman empire with those of S. Korea during the first half of the 20th century.. While these two societies kept far away from each other, spatially as well as chronologically, placed within very different social and political environments, acts of martyrdom within each society have occurred and remarkable similarities can be traced between them.
Foremost, the martyrs of both societies were charged with the crime of refusing ruler-worship. The Romans reproached the Christians on the charge of refusing emperor-worship, and the Japanese convicted Korean Christians of their denial of worshiping the Japanese king as an earthly god.
Also, within both societies Christians put up with severe torture and execution for the cause of Jesus Christ, and furthermore they welcomed their physical death expecting resurrection after death.
Research shows that in both societies, the women, who had generally been despised, played an important role in these acts of martyrdom. Examples being, the cases of Blandina & Perpetua in the Roman Empire and that of Jun-Kyung Mun in Korea are comparatively discussed on the influences they were able to pass on to the later generations.
In conclusion, seamlessly, transcending time and space the Christians of both societies were made to suffer and were ultimate martyred by the government. These acts were almost exclusively carried out under the aforementioned charges of refusing ruler-worship. By way of spiritual conviction these brave souls held fast to their faith in the God and in Jesus Christ while looking towards their resurrection after death.