espite all these failed initial attempts at bringing the gospel into Korea, Korean scholars and officials were not fully unaware of the existence of Catholic Christianity and the teachings of the Bible. In 1603, Yi Gwangjong (이광종 / 李光鍾), a Korean diplomat to Beijing, brought back to Korea a world map and a few books on theology produced by the renowned Catholic missionary to Ming China, Matteo Ricci. Subsequent Korean diplomats and ambassadors to China also brought back numerous works by resident Catholic missionaries and priests in China, including The True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven (Chinese: 天主实义, Tiānzhŭ Shíyì) by Matteo Ricci, in addition to a vast assortment of Western scientific tools, weapons and maps. Although these written works and items became treasures in the libraries of Korean imperial scholars of the era, they did not leave much of an imprint on the learned classes and general populace until about a century later.