Yeoumok Sanctuary and Community

Overview

Yeou-mok Shrine is a shrine of the Andong Diocese located in Jungpyeong-ri, Mungyeong-eup, Mungyeong-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, on the site of a Catholic village formed by the families of Saint John Yi Yun-il and Joseph Seo Chi-bo. Good News writes that this place was a key transportation hub where people from the eastern part of Gyeongsang-do crossed Yeou-mok Pass toward downtown Mungyeong and Saejae on their way to Seoul. The shrine is managed by Mungyeong Church.

History

[Formation of the Catholic village] Good News writes that around the Gihae Persecution in 1839, the family of Yi Yun-il from Hongju, Chungcheong-do moved here, and the family of Joseph Seo Chi-bo, grandson of Seo Gwang-su, the first believer in the Gyeongsang-do region, also came to live here to escape persecution. An information text at the Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall in Daegu states that the family of John Yi Yun-il moved here from Galgol in Sangju, that the family of Joseph Seo Chi-bo fled from Jeongwon in Chungbuk to Yeou-mok, and that the family of Paul Bak Gyeong-hwa, martyred during the Eulhae Persecution in 1815, and his son Andrew Bak Sa-ui, martyred during the Jeonghae Persecution in 1827, also lived here in hiding after fleeing from place to place.

[Geographical features] The Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall explains that Yeou-mok Shrine lies halfway up Mount Daemi, is the gateway to Gyeongsang-do bordering Chungbuk along the Sobaek Mountains, and that, as it is mountainous, believers who fled persecution from Seoul and Chungcheong-do formed a Catholic village there. It says that the neighboring Geonhak and Bureogi Catholic villages were within 20 to 30 ri by mountain trail, so in an emergency people could flee to another village over the mountain behind the village.

[Martyrdom of John Yi Yun-il] Good News writes that Yi Yun-il, then head of the Yeou-mok Catholic village, farmed and encouraged non-believers, bringing over 30 people into the Church and building a large Catholic village. The Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall writes that when he served as head of the Catholic mission chapel, over 30 households lived there, but now five households live there. When the Byeongin Persecution was at its height, in November 1866, Mungyeong runners broke in and dragged him with over 30 believers to the Mungyeong government office (the Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall writes that the runners raided the Catholic village on November 18, 1866), and Yi Yun-il was beaten for three days at the Mungyeong office, then transferred to Sangju, where during about a month in prison he underwent torture nine times. Afterwards, branded as a ‘leader of Western learning,’ he was transferred to Daegu and martyred by beheading at Gwandukjeong in Daegu in January 1867. The Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall writes that he was transferred to Daegu on January 4, 1867, was beheaded outside the South Gate of Daegu at Gwandukjeong on January 21, and was proclaimed as the 2 patron of the Archdiocese of Daegu on January 21, 1987. His birth year is given as 1823 in this source.

[Sons of Seo Chi-bo] Good News writes that Simon Seo In-sun, John Seo Ik-sun, and Peter Seo Tae-sun, the sons of Seo Chi-bo who had lived in Yeou-mok and then fled to places such as Sangju and Gyeongsan, were martyred during the Byeongin Persecution. The Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall writes that Seo In-sun lived in Mogae-gol in Gyeongsan, was arrested, interrogated at the Gyeongsang provincial office, and died in prison.

[Development of the shrine] According to Good News, Mungyeong Church, which manages Yeou-mok Shrine, with the help of Father Seo Gong-seok secured a site of 1255 pyeong near the site of the Catholic village, moved the graves of Seo Chi-bo and Seo In-sun there in September 1999, installed a large cross in April of the following year, and in November installed an altar, a statue of Mary and 14 Stations of the Cross, and after steady landscaping work held the blessing ceremony for the shrine in September 2002. The Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall writes that the shrine site (300 pyeong) purchased by the Daegu Archdiocesan Martyrs Exaltation Committee in the Catholic village where Saint Yi Yun-il lived is 5 minutes from the Yeou-mok cemetery developed by the Andong Diocese.

Related Places and People

• Tombs of Joseph Seo Chi-bo (1791–1840) and his son Simon Seo In-sun: enshrined in the Yeou-mok cemetery developed by the Andong Diocese (Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall).
• Geonhak and Bureogi Catholic villages: neighboring Catholic villages that lay within 20 to 30 ri of Yeou-mok by mountain trail (Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall).
• Gwandukjeong in Daegu: where John Yi Yun-il was beheaded (Good News, Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall).

References and Sources

1. Catholic Good News Shrines and Historic Sites, “Yeou-mok Shrine” (Andong Diocese). Formation of the Catholic village, arrest and martyrdom of Yi Yun-il, the Seo Chi-bo family, and shrine development in 1999–2002.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2346
2. Gwandukjeong Martyrs Memorial Hall of the Archdiocese of Daegu, “Shrines in Daegu – 7. Mungyeong Yeou-mok”. Geography, raid in 1866, transfer and beheading date of Yi Yun-il, and the Yeou-mok cemetery.
   http://www.daegusaint.org/p405/1899