Yangup Meditation Center (Mawon, Jinan-ri Shrine)

History & origins

The spiritual significance of Jinalli, to which the Yang-eop Meditation Center is connected, begins with the final journey of Fr. Thomas Choe Yang-eop. A history of the Diocese of Andong records that in 1861, after the Gyeongsin persecution had ended, Fr. Choe died in the home of a Catholic family in Jinalli, Mungyeong, while traveling toward Seoul. For a priest who had walked throughout the country to serve scattered Catholics, Jinalli became the place that preserved the memory of his final moments, and the Diocese of Andong later continued efforts to preserve and honor the area as a shrine.

According to the diocesan historical record, in February 1978 the diocese acquired the site associated with Fr. Choe's death and began developing it as a shrine. As the commemoration of martyrs and early Catholics in Mungyeong developed during the same period, Jinalli and nearby Mawon became important points on the region's pilgrimage landscape. In 2011, the diocese marked the 150th anniversary of Fr. Choe's death with a faith rally and symposium that renewed attention to his missionary spirituality and life.

Within this longer process of shrine development, the Yang-eop Meditation Center was blessed on May 2, 2019. The center did not replace the existing shrines; rather, it provided a spiritual base where pilgrims visiting Mawon, Jinalli, and nearby sites could stay for prayer and retreat. The directory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea likewise classifies the facility as a retreat and prayer house and includes Mawon and Jinalli Shrines in its official name.

The Diocese of Andong has continued pilgrimages and prayer centered on the memory of Fr. Choe. In 2025 it celebrated a Mass under the theme “Pilgrim of Hope,” praying for the beatification and canonization of Fr. Thomas Choe Yang-eop. The history of the Yang-eop Meditation Center is therefore not limited to the construction of a facility in 2019; it belongs to a decades-long diocesan process of preserving the place of his death, developing shrines, holding commemorative gatherings, and deepening the practice of retreat and pilgrimage.