St. Kim Beom-woo Martyr Shrine

Overview

The Kim Beom-u Martyr Shrine is a shrine of the Busan Diocese located halfway up Mount Maneosan in Yongjeon-ri, Samnangjin-eup, Miryang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, where the tomb of Thomas Kim Beom-u, called the first witness or first martyr of Korean Catholicism, and the Martyr Kim Beom-u Memorial Marian Grotto Church stand. The tomb was discovered in 1989 and the Mass for the completion of the tomb precinct was offered in 2005.

History

[Kim Beom-u and the Myeongnyebang Community] Good News records that Kim Beom-u was born into a famous family of interpreters, was baptized by Yi Seung-hun, who had been baptized in Beijing in 1784 and returned, and offered his house in Myeongnyebang (near present-day Myeongdong Church) for regular prayer gatherings. The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia explains that his family was a chungin family that had produced interpreters for generations since his great-grandfather Kim Ik-han became an interpreter, that Kim Beom-u was a Chinese-language interpreter who passed the state interpreter examination in 1773, and that his younger brother Kim Jeok-u was also an interpreter. The encyclopedia records that his house was exposed in the Eulsa Chujo exposure incident in 1785, and that a stone marker reading “Founding Site of the Korean Catholic Church” stands on that house site.

[Exile and Death] Good News records that in the following year, in the Eulsa Chujo exposure incident, Kim Beom-u was dragged with his companions to the Ministry of Justice, was severely flogged and imprisoned, and because he never apostatized was exiled to Miryang, and while in exile openly spread Catholicism until he died from the aftereffects of punishment in the autumn of 1786 (or early 1787). The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia records that accounts of the time of death are divided between 1786 and 1787, and that the place of exile is given variously as Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do and Danjang-myeon, Miryang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, and explains that the stele in front of the tomb is inscribed to say that he died from the aftereffects of torture in 1787. Good News records that the introduction of Catholicism to this region began with Kim Beom-u’s life in exile.

[Discovery of the Tomb] Good News records that in the early 1980s, as descendant Kim Dong-hwan, who had been searching everywhere for Kim Beom-u’s tomb, came forward, it was newly revealed that the place of exile was not Danyang but Danjang in Miryang, and that through the efforts of the Busan Diocese Martyrs Exaltation Committee and descendants, in 1989 they met a maternal grandson of Kim Beom-u and with his help found the tomb at San 102, Yongjeon-ri, Samnangjin-eup, Miryang-si, halfway up Mount Maneosan. The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia records that the tomb was discovered in May 1989.

[Development of the Shrine] The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia records that in 1990 the Busan Diocese purchased the tomb site and began developing the shrine, and completed the project to improve the tomb precinct in 2005, and explains that the stele in front of the tomb was erected by the Busan Diocese in September 2003. Good News records that the Martyrs Exaltation Committee purchased surrounding land, built a stone altar and a lawn, erected 14 Stations of the Cross carved with images on large natural stones along the mountain path leading to the tomb precinct, inscribed momentous events of the Korean Catholic Church on 20 stones along the path from the parking area to the tomb precinct, and offered the Mass for the completion of the tomb precinct in September 2005.

[Marian Grotto Church and Retreat House] Good News records that in September 2011 the dedication ceremony was held for the Martyr Kim Beom-u Memorial Marian Grotto Church for pilgrims, that in September 2017 an education center and retreat house were built within the shrine and blessed, and that the beatification and canonization cause for Kim Beom-u continues steadily. The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia explains that this church was built to commemorate Kim Beom-u, the first witness and martyr of Catholicism in Korea.

Architecture and Spaces

The Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia records that the Marian Grotto Church complex includes a Marian grotto church where Mass can be offered, a rectory, a 3,300-square-meter lawn and a parking area, and that the Way of the Cross and a Rosary Path have been created along the mountain path leading to the Kim Beom-u tomb precinct. It explains that around the tomb lie the Meditation Path, the Marian Garden, the Path of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the education center and retreat house.

Related Places and People

• Myeongnyebang Site (Myeongdong, Seoul): the place where Kim Beom-u’s house stood, where a marker reading “Founding Site of the Korean Catholic Church” stands (Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia).
• Yi Seung-hun: the person who was baptized in Beijing in 1784 and, upon returning, baptized Kim Beom-u (Good News).

References and Sources

1. Catholic Good News, Shrines and Historic Sites, “Kim Beom-u Martyr Shrine” (Busan Diocese). Life and exile of Kim Beom-u, discovery of the tomb, completion of the tomb precinct in 2005, Marian Grotto Church in 2011, retreat house in 2017.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2332
2. Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia, “Tomb of Kim Beom-u”. Family of Kim Beom-u, differing accounts of the time of death and place of exile, discovery in 1989, purchase of the site in 1990, completion in 2005.
   http://miryang.grandculture.net/miryang/toc/GC08700419
3. Digital Miryang Culture Encyclopedia, “Martyr Kim Beom-u Memorial Marian Grotto Church”. Meaning of the church and dedication in 2011, education center and retreat house in 2017.
   https://miryang.grandculture.net/miryang/toc/GC08701125