Cheongju Eupseong Martyrs' Shrine

History & origins

The history of martyrdom around the former Cheongju walled town is clearly documented from April 17, 1799, when James Won Si-bo of Hongju died for his faith at the Chungcheong military barracks. Francis Bae Gwan-gyeom was martyred at the same place in 1800, and in 1802 Francis Kim Sa-jip was taken from the barracks to the marketplace, where he gave his life. The barracks and market area therefore became places where Catholics endured interrogation and punishment and openly witnessed to their faith during and around the Sinyu Persecution.

Martyrdom continued during the Byeongin Persecution. After 1866, Paul O Ban-ji of Jincheon was martyred at the Cheongju military headquarters, while Thomas Jang, who had lived in the Baeti Catholic village, was beheaded at the command post outside the north gate. Servants of God Andrew Kim Jun-gi, James Jeon, and Ambrose Choe Yong-un are also remembered for their witness at the Cheongju headquarters. For this reason, the shrine preserves not the memory of a single execution ground but a network of sites—headquarters, barracks, market, command post, and prison.

In modern times, efforts were made to mark these memories in the city itself. A memorial to the martyrs was installed in Cheongju Jungang Park in September 2002, and markers were placed at the former Cheongju headquarters, market, command post, and prison. When Pope Francis beatified Paul Yun Ji-chung and his companions in 2014, the witness of James Won Si-bo, Francis Bae Gwan-gyeom, Francis Kim Sa-jip, Paul O Ban-ji, and Thomas Jang, all connected with these places, received renewed attention as the history of the newly beatified martyrs. Pilgrimage today reconnects the scattered sites by walking through the city and retracing the time and space of Cheongju's martyr history.