Cheongju Eupseong Martyrs' Shrine

Overview

The Cheongju Eupseong Martyrs’ Shrine is a martyrdom shrine of the Catholic Diocese of Cheongju located inside and outside the former Cheongju Eupseong in downtown Cheongju, under the jurisdiction of Seoundong Church. Beginning with the martyrdom of Blessed James Won Si-bo at the Chungcheong military camp in 1799, martyrs including 5 Blesseds bore witness to the faith at various sites, including the Cheongju military camp, marketplace, and command post.

History

The Diocese of Cheongju explains that the martyrdom history of Cheongju Eupseong began when Blessed James Won Si-bo, a native of Hongju, bore witness to the faith at the Chungcheong Byeongyeong (in the area of present-day Cheongju Jungang Park) on April 17, 1799. In 1800, Blessed Francis Bae Gwan-gyeom was martyred at the same place, and in 1802, Blessed Francis Kim Sa-jip bore witness to the faith at the Chungcheong Byeongyeong and was then dragged to the Cheongju marketplace and martyred. The Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia also records the martyrdoms of Won Si-bo (April 17, 1799, Chungcheong Byeongyeong), Bae Gwan-gyeom (in 1800, native of Jinmok in Dangjin), and Kim Sa-jip (in 1802, native of Bibanggogi in Deoksan) as occurring in the same years. By contrast, the Catholic Newspaper reports that Blessed Kim Sa-jip was paraded in public disgrace and martyred at the marketplace outside the South Gate of Cheongju on December 22, 1801, which was a market day, giving a different year.

According to a serial article in the Catholic Newspaper, Blessed Won Si-bo died under beating on April 17, 1799, at the age of 69, after both legs had already been broken, and after his martyrdom his body appeared surrounded by a strange radiance, upon seeing which about 50 families embraced the faith. The same article introduces Blessed Kim Sa-jip as one who gave alms and showed compassion to the poor and lonely and who transcribed Church books by hand and distributed them to poor believers.

After the Byeongin Persecution (in 1866), Blessed Paul O Ban-ji, a native of Jincheon, was martyred at the Cheongju military camp, and Blessed Thomas Jang, from the Baeti Catholic village in Jincheon, was martyred by beheading at the Cheongju command post (military command post). Among the Servants of God, the Diocese of Cheongju introduces Ambrose Choe Yong-un, president of the Mongeomok Catholic mission chapel in Boeun, Andrew Kim Jun-gi of the Saeul Catholic village in Jincheon, and James Jeon of Geumbong in Cheongju, among others, as having borne witness to the faith at the Cheongju military camp before being martyred. Meanwhile, the Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia states that during the Byeongin Persecution in 1866, 25 believers, including James Jeon, a native of Geumbong in Cheongju (present-day Wolyong-ri, Miwon-myeon, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju), were executed at Namseok Bridge, thus differing among sources on the place of James Jeon’s martyrdom. The Catholic Newspaper reports that the site of the Cheongju military camp lies to the right of the main gate of Cheongju First Church, and that in front of Eupcheongdang, the magistrate’s office, Blessed O Ban-ji refused to apostatize and suffered death by hanging.

The Diocese of Cheongju further explains that many other known and unknown martyrs came from inside and outside Cheongju Eupseong. At Cheongju Jungang Park, a martyrdom site, there is a monument honoring the martyrs installed on September 26, 2002, and stone markers have also been installed at the former Cheongju military camp martyrdom site, the marketplace and command post martyrdom sites, and the former Cheongju prison site of witness to the faith. The remains of Blessed Paul O Ban-ji are enshrined in Seoundong Church, which has jurisdiction over the Cheongju Eupseong Martyrs’ Shrine.

Religious significance and visiting context

The Catholic Newspaper (article in September 2019) introduces the pilgrimage route of the Cheongju Eupseong Martyrs’ Shrine as linking the Chungcheong Byeongyeong martyrdom site in Cheongju Jungang Park, the South Gate marketplace in Cheongju, the command post martyrdom site outside the North Gate, and the Cheongju prison site of witness to the faith. The South Gate marketplace in Cheongju was the site of the periodic market outside the South Gate of Cheongju Eupseong, where Blessed Kim Sa-jip and others were martyred, and the command post outside the North Gate was where the military command post outside the North Gate of the former Cheongju Eupseong stood and where Blessed Thomas Jang was martyred. Cheongju Prison is introduced as a place where no one was martyred but where martyrs stayed.

According to the Catholic Newspaper (article in January 2026), the Cheongju military camp martyrdom site in the area of 15, Sangdang-ro 13beon-gil, Sangdang-gu, Cheongju, is occupied by the Protestant Cheongju First Church, and in the backyard of the church a martyrs’ garden commemorating the martyrs of the Cheongju military camp has been created. The roots of the First Church go back to the Cheongju Eup Church founded by the American missionary Min Noah in 1904, and Missionary Min is said to have moved the church to this place in 1905 to remember its meaning as land where Catholic believers were martyred. As part of the shrine improvement project begun by Seoundong Parish in early 2021, the First Church provided the place closest to the presumed martyrdom site as the garden site and the parish bore the cost of its creation, and a blessing ceremony was held on August 26, 2021. The same article reports that since the creation of the martyrs’ garden, more than 7000 Catholic pilgrims visit every year.

Related places and figures

• Seoundong Church: the parish that has jurisdiction over the Cheongju Eupseong Martyrs’ Shrine and where the remains of Blessed Paul O Ban-ji are enshrined.
• Cheongju First Church: the church standing on the site of the Cheongju military camp martyrdom and which created the martyrs’ garden together with Seoundong Parish.
• Blessed James Won Si-bo, Francis Bae Gwan-gyeom, Francis Kim Sa-jip, Paul O Ban-ji, and Thomas Jang: the Blesseds martyred at Cheongju Eupseong (Diocese of Cheongju shrine guide).
• Ambrose Choe Yong-un, Andrew Kim Jun-gi, and James Jeon: Servants of God who bore witness to the faith at the Cheongju military camp (Diocese of Cheongju shrine guide).

References and sources

1. Diocese of Cheongju, Shrine Guide: Cheongju Eupseong Martyrs’ Shrine. Confirmed 5 Blessed martyrs and 3 Servants of God, the Chungcheong Byeongyeong, military camp, marketplace, and command post martyrdom sites, the 2002 martyrs’ monument, stone markers, and the enshrinement of the remains of Blessed O Ban-ji.
   https://www.cdcj.or.kr/parish/holyland/10
2. Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia, Catholic Church. Confirmed the martyrdom years and birthplaces of Won Si-bo, Bae Gwan-gyeom, and Kim Sa-jip, the execution at Namseok Bridge during the Byeongin Persecution, and the martyrs’ monument and stone markers.
   https://cheongju.grandculture.net/cheongju/toc/GC00200615
3. Catholic Newspaper, [Martyrs Met at Shrines] (4) Cheongju Eupseong Martyrs’ Shrine (September 2019). Confirmed the pilgrimage route of the martyrdom sites, the stories of Blessed Won Si-bo and Blessed Kim Sa-jip, and the Cheongju prison site of witness to the faith.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/201909240119139
4. Catholic Newspaper, Cheongju Catholic and Protestant Churches Achieve Unity in the Spirit of Martyrdom (January 2026). Confirmed the background to the creation of the Cheongju military camp martyrdom site and the martyrs’ garden at Cheongju First Church.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/20260109500191