Meoru Mountain Catholic Community

Overview

The Meorusan Shrine is a Catholic shrine of the Diocese of Andong located in Posan-ri, Seokbo-myeon, Yeongyang-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do. It is the site of a Catholic village formed deep in the mountains by believers who fled from Chungcheong-do and elsewhere after the Sinyu Persecution (1801), where Kim Si-u (Alexio) and Yi Si-im (Anna), beatified in 2014, lived the faith before being arrested in the Eulhae Persecution (1815).

History

According to the Good News guide to shrines and historic sites, Posan-ri had long been called Gumeori or Posan (葡山) because wild grapes were abundant there. Like the Noraesan Catholic village in Cheongsong, this place is a deep mountain valley village on the summit of Podongsan, a ridge of the Taebaek Mountains, where believers who fled from Chungcheong-do and elsewhere after the Sinyu Persecution in 1801 formed a Catholic village. The believers cleared mountain land, farmed, gathered darae and wild grapes for food, and lived their life of faith. The Daegu shrine guide (daegusaint.org) gives the height of Podongsan as 538m and records that believers from Hongju, Yesan, and elsewhere in Chungcheong-do formed the Catholic village. The Catholic Times reports that believers from the Chungcheong region, including Kim Seong-hwan (Laurentio), who had lived in Hongsan, Chungcheong-do at the time of the Sinyu Persecution, entered deep into the mountains to escape persecution and formed the Catholic village.

A few days after the believers of the Noraesan Catholic village in Cheongsong were arrested in 1815, government runners raided as far as Meorusan and dragged all the believers to the Andong garrison. Citing the Ilseongnok, the Good News guide states that among the believers arrested at that time, 20 people, including Bak Sa-haeng, apostatized and were released, while 13 people, including Kim Si-u Alexio, bravely witnessed to the faith. Following the Ilseongnok, the Daegu shrine guide names 13 people who witnessed to the faith, including Kim Si-u, Kim Heung-geum and her children Kim Jang-bok and Jakdan, Kim Heon-dong and his son Gapdeuk and daughters Si-im and Jeong-im. The Eulhae Persecution completely destroyed the Meorusan Catholic village, and the remaining believers scattered in all directions.

In 2025, a large wildfire that swept through the Gyeongbuk region destroyed the shrine’s Stations of the Cross, statue of Our Lady, and other features. On September 19, 2026, Yeongyang Parish of the Diocese of Andong celebrated a Mass commemorating the restoration of the shrine at the Meorusan Shrine, presided over by pastor Fr. Park Seok-il (Peter), with about 30 parish and mission chapel faithful participating. The shrine has been developed in earnest since 2024 for registration as a national pilgrimage site and to welcome pilgrims, and the Andong Diocesan Shrine Committee is reportedly preparing to list it as a “Catholic National Pilgrimage Site.”

Religious Significance and Visiting Context

Kim Si-u (Alexio), Yi Si-im (Anna), and Kim Gang-i (Simon), who lived here, were beatified by Pope Francis on August 16, 2014, in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul (the beatification of Simon Kim Gang-i follows the wording of the Catholic Times). The Good News guide notes that to reach the site of the Catholic village, one must climb for about 30 minutes along the valley from the Posan-ri village hall.

Related Places and People

• Kim Si-u Alexio: A native of Cheongyang, Chungcheong-do (according to Good News), he was partially paralyzed, lived in Meorusan, was arrested, and was transferred from Andong to Daegu. Good News states that he died in prison before the lunar October 21 in 1816, while the Daegu shrine guide states that he died in prison around 5–June in 1815, after 2 months in prison, so the two sources differ. The Daegu shrine guide reports that he transcribed church books with his left hand and shared them with fellow believers and that he voluntarily gave himself up for arrest.
• Yi Si-im Anna: A native of Deoksan, Chungcheong-do, she was, according to Good News, transferred from Andong to Daegu, sentenced to death, and martyred at Gwandeokjeong on December 19, 1816. The Daegu shrine guide states that she was the younger sibling of John Yi Seong-ji, who was martyred in Jeonju Prison in the Jeonghae Persecution in 1827, that she lived in Meorusan with her son Jong-ak, that her son Jong-ak died in her arms in prison, and that she was beheaded at Gwandeokjeong in Daegu.
• Kim Gang-i Simon: After living together in Meorusan, he went to Uljin, Gangwon-do, and was seized in the Eulhae Persecution in 1815 on the betrayal of a servant and transferred to the Andong garrison. In May of the same year, he was transferred with his younger brother Kim Tadeo to the Wonju magistracy and died in prison on November 5, 1815. The Daegu shrine guide introduces him as the only believer martyred in Gangwon-do in the Eulhae Persecution.
• Noraesan Catholic village in Cheongsong: The Catholic village whose believers were arrested before the Meorusan believers in 1815.

References and Sources

1. Good News of the Archdiocese of Seoul, Shrines and Historic Sites, “Meorusan”. The formation of the Catholic village, the arrests in the Eulhae Persecution, the martyrdom and beatification of Kim Si-u and Yi Si-im, and information on reaching the site of the Catholic village were confirmed.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2343
2. The Shrines of Daegu of the Archdiocese of Daegu, “11. Jinbo Meorusan”. The formation of the Catholic village, the 13 people according to the Ilseongnok, and brief biographies of Kim Si-u, Yi Si-im, and Kim Gang-i were confirmed.
   http://www.daegusaint.org/p405/1895
3. The Catholic Times, “Yeongyang Meorusan Shrine in the Diocese of Andong Celebrates Memorial Mass for Recovery from Wildfire Damage” (2026-09-21). The wildfire damage and the memorial Mass for recovery, the development of the shrine, and preparations for listing as a pilgrimage site were confirmed.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/20260921500082