Gyeongsang Gamyung and Ok Teo

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.