Stephen Kim Sou-hwan
1922-2009 20th century
Physical courage placed between power and the vulnerable, a church that became sanctuary in fact and not just in name, authority used to shield rather than to command.
Who was Stephen Kim Sou-hwan?
The first Korean cardinal, he led the Catholic archdiocese of Seoul through decades of military dictatorship, most famously in 1987 when riot police came to the cathedral to drag out students who had taken refuge there after a democracy protest. He stood at the door and told the commanding officer that if they wanted the students, they would have to walk over his body first, and then over the bodies of the priests and nuns behind him. The police withdrew.
In their own words
If you want to arrest the students, you will have to arrest me first, and then the priests, and then the nuns who will be standing in front of them.