Hwahyeon Ibyeok Shrine

History & origins

Yi Byeok, John the Baptist (1754–1785), was one of the leading figures of the earliest Catholic community in Korea, which embraced Western Learning as religious faith in the late eighteenth century. The Diocese of Chuncheon identifies Hwahyeon in Pocheon as the place where he was born and where he completed his life while bearing witness to his faith. The location of his grave was unknown for many years until it was found in the late 1970s, and his remains were transferred to Cheonjinam in 1979. The original grave site in Hwahyeon nevertheless remained an important place of church-historical memory.

The modern development of the shrine took many years and faced practical difficulties. In 2009, Fr. Joseph Ko Bong-yeon, then pastor of Ildong Parish in Pocheon, actively urged the city to recognize the historical importance of Yi Byeok and preserve the birthplace site. The Diocese of Chuncheon and Pocheon City later discussed the development of the area, and work continued to create a place that would preserve the memory of Yi Byeok around the birthplace and original grave sites.

On May 20, 2023, Bishop Simon Kim Ju-young of Chuncheon formally declared the site “Hwahyeon Yi Byeok Shrine” and on the same day blessed the Gwangam Yi Byeok John the Baptist Memorial Church. The memorial church was built as a single-story structure with high stone walls and an enclosed courtyard, and the shrine also includes facilities recalling the birthplace and guiding visitors. Its first priest dedicated to the shrine was appointed that August. In this way, memories long preserved locally around Yi Byeok’s birthplace and grave were gathered into an officially recognized shrine and memorial church in the twenty-first century, creating a pilgrimage site focused on the beginnings of Catholicism in Korea.

The declaration of the shrine also represented an official diocesan synthesis after years of historical study on Yi Byeok, efforts toward his beatification, and work to preserve local sites associated with him. By adding a memorial church and formal shrine structure to places of memory that had long existed, such as the birthplace and original grave site, previously scattered historical memories were brought together within a coherent pilgrimage setting and interpretation.