On Saint Sukbaknam:


We decided to use title "Saint" and "Martyr" SukBaknam interchangeably. Martyr means witness. The title is given to Christian warriors, who shed blood for their faith. The name "Saint" is very prevalent in Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church tradition (i.e. St. Mary, St. John, St. Peter, St. Augustine, St. Irenaeus, Sts. Perpetua, and Felicity, and Martyr Blandina of Gallic) But in the Protestant tradition, using saint on any specific persons are not practiced, instead, everyone who is a Christians is called "saint" (1 Cor. 1: 2). In a Christian sense calling one another saint is biblical and mandated (1Pet. 1: 16). In a spirit of such tradition, martyr Sukbaknam belongs to a great cloud of witnesses who are in heaven and called saints.
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On the testimonies based on churches and personal confessions, martyr sukbaknam earned her sainthood. Even though there are few recollections and materials available, I was able to do some researches and have found a consistent characteristic traits: witness and holiness. 

Despite her short-lived earthly life, she was consistently been called a "saint" by other believers. According to the late First lady Deok Kwi Gong, who was her classmate at Yokohama Theological Seminary in Japan (she was also the wife of President Bo Sun Yoon, the fourth President of Republic Korea, from 1960- 1962), "Sister Suk was a saint." (pck-pcmma.com) As a matter of fact, the first lady looked up to her as her elder sister and was greatly influenced her Christain virtues and teachings. I could imagine the first lady's Christian influence on her husband and his outlook on Korean politics and the future of birthing a democracy.

Elder Sung Yup Pak, a brother-in-law, wrote about her life and called her "Saint" in his essay titled "Short Essay on Saint Sukbakname." (Young Keun Suk, Suk Family's Genealogy, 1978, p. 2-3.) In his essay Elder Pak described her as a godly Christian virgin who sacrificed her life on Christ and His people. He felt that he was not worthy to write about such a godly person like her. He wished that since her works were not recognized on earth, she would have such rewards in heaven. She was a saint.
Kyoung Do Church was a poor Korean church in Japan, where she pastored for about four years. She overcame living in a foreign land and serving desperate Koreans at the same time. She worked tirelessly and fearlessly. At that time, it was not an easy task even for men, let alone feeble woman pastors. Yet she served the church wholeheartedly and selflessly that the church decided to honor and gave her title "Saint." (Suk, p. 3)
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While attending Yokohama Theological Seminary, during a new student orientation time, the president called out her as one to follow as a model Christian. (Suk, p. 3.)
And there are numerous testimonies from sisters and brothers and friends and relatives agreeing with her Christ-like lifestyle and hospitality. After much prayers and thoughts, it was fitting to call her saint (the model who is in heaven) and use it on the website as well.


Brother Alex Pak
June 30, 2022