Martyrs' Tomb of the Jo Brothers

Overview

The Tomb of the Jo Brother Martyrs is the grave of the brothers Jo Seok-bin and Jo Seok-jeung, who were beheaded and martyred at Waejangdae in Gimhae-eup in 1868 (Mu-jin year). It is a holy site of the Diocese of Busan, and on September 15, 2026 it was moved from Saenggok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Busan to the grounds of the Jeong Hasang Paul Spiritual Center in Yangsan-si, Gyeongsangnam-do.

History

The brothers Jo Seok-bin (born in 1825) and Jo Seok-jeung (born in 1834) were descendants of generation 30 of the Gimhae branch of the Changnyeong Jo clan, and after entering the Catholic Church they devoted themselves to missionary work. Good News reports that, although the two differed in appearance and age, they excelled in learning and character, and, carrying on their backs a wooden box concealing a Chinese Bible among Chinese books, they visited mainly yangban families and took the lead in the study of Catholic teaching and in evangelization. According to the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, amid severe persecution the two had their property and fields confiscated, hid in the Dongseo School of Bae Jeong-mun in Saenggok-dong, and devoted themselves to the comparative study of Confucianism and Western Learning.

When the Byeongin Persecution broke out in 1866, the two brothers were arrested by constables 2 years later, in the Mu-jin year 1868. Good News gives the place of arrest as Pyeondo Village in Sangdeok-ri, Garak-myeon, while the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia and the Catholic Newspaper record it as the area of present-day Gangdong-dong, Gangseo-gu, Busan. Dragged to the Dongnae government office, they were forced to apostatize and suffered cruel torture, but they refused, and they were beheaded at Waejangdae in Gimhae-eup (the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia identifies it as Waejangdae in Gusan-dong, Gimhae). The Catholic Newspaper reported it as a case in which, after the elder brother Seok-bin was martyred first, the younger brother Seok-jeung rejected the persuasion of the Dongnae office and willingly sought martyrdom together with him, and it is counted as a representative case in the history of the Korean Church of brothers martyred at the same time. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia recounts that the elder brother raised both arms sideways to stand in the form of the cross, smiled, and was beheaded, and that the younger brother received in both hands the blood spurting from his brother’s neck and, crying out, “A flower of the cross has bloomed on my brother’s neck,” followed him in martyrdom.

Because they had been condemned as criminals of heterodox learning, their bodies could not be buried in the family burial ground because of opposition from the clan and were left abandoned. Taking pity on them, their neighbor Bae Jeong-mun (described, depending on the source, as the great-grandfather of generation 3 or the great-great-grandfather of the late Father Bae Mun-han) buried them secretly in a hillside field behind his house, and thereafter the Bae family protected and cared for the grave over 4 generations.

Oral tradition about the martyrdom was passed down through the Bae family until, from June 19, 1989 to the 20th, the Diocese of Busan excavated the grave and carried out verification work. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia records that the excavated bones were entrusted to the School of Dentistry of Pusan National University for examination. After access-road construction and other work were completed from January 1995 onward, on May 29 (Good News gives May 1995) a restoration Mass was offered with Bishop Lee Gap-su presiding, and a stone altar doubling as a tombstone was erected. On November 1997, the Busan Diocese Church History Research Institute, the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, and the Father Bae Mun-han Love Memorial Association installed 14 Stations of the Cross around the tomb and erected a large stone cross on the rock behind the tomb. On August 1998, the birthplace of Father Bae Mun-han (who died on August 5, 1994 near the seashore in Samcheok-si, Gangwon-do while rescuing believers who had fallen into the water), located below the tomb, was renovated to provide a hall and rooms where pilgrims could rest.

Architecture and Space

According to the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, the cemetery in Saenggok-dong was developed as a martyrdom park with a cemetery area of about 9,917 square meters, and a granite cross and a black stone stele were erected. The tombstones read “Tomb of Martyr Jo Seok-bin” and “Tomb of Martyr Jo Seok-jeung.” The cover stones that had covered the bodies and the old books are said to have been kept in the Brothers Martyrs Memorial Hall at number 272 in Saenggok-dong.

Relocation of the Tomb

According to the Catholic Newspaper, the Diocese of Busan pursued relocation because the gravesite was owned neither by the Church nor by descendants, which increasingly hampered pilgrimage and permanent preservation. On September 10, 2026, an exhumation and remains-recovery rite was held at the Saenggok-dong tomb presided over by Vicar General Bishop Shin Ho-cheol (Pio), and on September 15, a reburial rite was offered at the new tomb on the grounds of the Jeong Hasang Paul Spiritual Center, presided over by Diocesan Bishop Son Sam-seok (Joseph). At this rite, a plaque of gratitude was presented to the Banseokhoe of Myeongji Parish, which had cared for the tomb for more than 10 years. The new tomb is a flat burial without a mound with an area of about 95 square meters, and the diocese plans to maintain it as a pilgrimage site and a space of prayer for the promotion of beatification and canonization.

References and Sources

1. Good News, Tomb of the Jo Brother Martyrs, a Holy Site and Historic Site. Confirmed the brothers’ missionary activity, their arrest and beheading in 1868, the secret burial by Bae Jeong-mun, the excavation in 1989, the restoration Mass in 1995, and the installation of the Stations of the Cross.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2334
2. Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, Tomb of the Brother Martyrs in Saenggok. Confirmed personal details, the background of the excavation and identification, the size of the cemetery and the tombstones, and the state of management.
   https://www.grandculture.net/busan/toc/GC04200292
3. Catholic Newspaper, Diocese of Busan Relocates the Tomb of the Martyr Brothers Jo Seok-bin and Jo Seok-jeung. Confirmed on September 2026 the background of the tomb relocation and the new tomb.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/20260914500019