About this place
The site of the Gyeongsang Provincial Government Office and Prison is officially presented by the Archdiocese of Daegu as a Catholic martyrdom site and is now associated with Daean Catholic Church. The provincial government complex was the administrative center of Gyeongsang Province during the Joseon period; during the persecutions of Catholics, its prison became a place where believers were arrested, interrogated, punished, and confined.
Its religious significance lies less in the present church building than in the memory of martyrdom attached to the site. The archdiocese preserves the stories of Catholics and martyrs who passed through this prison during several persecutions and presents the place, together with nearby martyrdom sites such as Gwandeokjeong, as an important setting for understanding the history of persecution in Daegu.
History & origins
When the Eulhae Persecution broke out in 1815, Catholics from communities in northern Gyeongsang and southern Gangwon were arrested and transferred to the Gyeongsang provincial government prison. Agatha Magdalena Kim Yun-deok died after being beaten, while Francis Choe Bong-han, Alexius Kim Si-u, Andrew Seo Seok-bong, and several others died in prison. Some of those who survived imprisonment were later beheaded at Gwandeokjeong.
During the Jeonghae Persecution of 1827, Catholics from the Sangju and Bonghwa areas were also brought here. Paul Park Gyeong-hwa, Ambrose Kim Se-bak, Richard An Gun-sim, and others died in prison, while some of the survivors were later martyred at Gwandeokjeong. The prison was therefore not connected with only one persecution; it repeatedly served as a place of confinement during successive waves of repression.
During the Gyeongsin Persecution of 1860, Catholics including Peter Seo Tae-sun were imprisoned here, and during the Byeongin Persecution beginning in 1866, Saint John Yi Yun-il and many others also suffered imprisonment at this site. In 2016, marking the bicentenary of the Eulhae martyrs, the Archdiocese of Daegu erected and blessed a monument honoring seven beatified martyrs. The memorial connects the former prison ground with its present role as a place of pilgrimage and remembrance.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Gyeongsang Gamyung and Ok Teo: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
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Building information
- Passenger elevators: 1
- 6 above-ground floors · 1 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 1996
- Total floor area: 3,332㎡
Building-register record · · Source
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Sources and updates
- Information Status
- Official
- Source
- Official source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
- Last updated
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- 한국천주교주교회의 온라인 주소록
Diocese
Official website: http://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr
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