Darakgol Shrine

Overview

The Darakgol Shrine in Cheongyang, located in Hwaseong-myeon, Cheongyang-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, is a shrine of the Diocese of Daejeon. It is the Catholic village where Father Choi Yang-eop Thomas, called the ‘Martyr of Sweat,’ and his father Saint Choi Gyeong-hwan Francis were born, and where the row tombs of unknown martyrs stand. The shrine is largely divided into two parts: Saeteo (the birthplace) and the row tombs.

History

[Formation of the Darakgol Catholic Village] The beatification and canonization materials of the Bishops’ Conference estimate that the Gospel reached Darakgol shortly after the 1791 Shinhae Persecution. They state that Choi Han-il, the great-grandfather of Father Choi Yang-eop, learned doctrine from Yi Jon-chang Ludovico Gonzaga, the Apostle of Naepo, and entered the Church, and that after Choi Han-il died and persecution broke out, his wife Lady Yi of Gyeongju fled here with her only son Choi In-ju (the grandfather of Father Choi Yang-eop), which was the beginning. Good News also explains that Choi In-ju and his mother fled here, cleared common land and lived on it, and that land became Saeteo, with neighbors gathering to form a new Catholic village. According to the Bishops’ Conference materials, the Gospel had reached the Cheongyang area even earlier.

[Saeteo and Choi Gyeong-hwan and Choi Yang-eop] The shrine homepage states that going down about 1 km along the road from the entrance to the row-tombs shrine leads to Saeteo Village, and that this is where Choi Yang-eop (Thomas, 1821–1861), the second Korean priest, and his father Choi Gyeong-hwan (Francis, 1805–1839) were born. Choi Gyeong-hwan was the youngest of Choi In-ju’s three sons and was canonized on May 6, 1984. Among Choi Gyeong-hwan’s six children, the eldest son was Father Choi Yang-eop. Choi Gyeong-hwan married Yi Seong-rye (Maria), and this family left for another place around 1827 for a better life of faith. The Bishops’ Conference materials state that Father Choi Yang-eop and Choi Gyeong-hwan moved in the early 1830s to Surisan in Gyeonggi-do (now Dambaegol in Anyang-4-dong, Anyang-si). The shrine homepage explains that, judging from the genealogy of the Hwasukgong branch of the Gyeongju Choi clan and the locations of graves, Choi families had lived in Darakgol at least since the early 1600s, and that Saint Choi Gyeong-hwan’s family belongs in the genealogy to the Gwangajeonggong branch of the Gyeongju Choi clan.

[Place Name] The Bishops’ Conference materials state that the name ‘Darakgol’ originated because the village looked like a loft, but it seems to have gradually changed to ‘Dalangol,’ and that it was also called ‘Daraegol’ because it produced many wild grapes.

[Gihae Persecution and Fathers Maubant and Chastan] According to the shrine homepage, Darakgol is a Catholic village closely connected with the Gihae Persecution (1839). It was in Darakgol that the French missionaries Father Maubant and Father Chastan hid and then surrendered themselves on the advice of Bishop Imbert. In August 1839 the two priests were on their way to Jeolla-do to escape persecution when Father Maubant stayed in Darakgol and Father Chastan left for Jeolla-do to find a safer place. When Bishop Imbert’s letter advising surrender arrived, Father Maubant called Father Chastan back to Darakgol, and during the ten days of waiting Father Maubant wrote his last letter to France. After Father Chastan arrived, the two priests left a letter with guidance for daily life to the faithful and left Darakgol on September 7 for Hongju to surrender themselves. Choi Hae-seong (John) and Choi Dae-jong (Joseph) from Darakgol were also arrested at the same time and martyred. The homepage says that Im Man-eok (James), who was martyred at age 17 in 1868, was born in Darakgol around 1851, and that Chairman Im, who appears in the 1866 list of Galmaemot martyrs, was also a Darakgol faithful, interpreting that Darakgol remained a comparatively safe Catholic village even during persecution. It explains that Hwaam-ri north of Darakgol is a clan village of the Pungcheon Im clan.

[Byeongin Persecution and the Disappearance of the Catholic Village] The Bishops’ Conference materials state that Darakgol believers escaped persecution several times, but many were arrested during the 1866 Byeongin Persecution. According to transmitted stories, they hid the fact that the graves were those of believers, but when this became known to the government office the village was burned and the believers scattered in all directions. The shrine homepage also states that the Catholic village disappeared after the Byeongin Persecution and that, having been discovered by the runners, ‘they set fire to the whole village,’ but it admits that exactly how it disappeared is not known.

[Row Tombs] Good News states that on a sunny ridge behind the village stand the graves and tombstones of unknown martyrs in several rows, but it is not known whose graves they are, and that according to oral tradition the bodies of faithful martyred at the Hongju government office during the 1866 Byeongin Persecution were secretly removed by night and buried here on the Choi clan’s ancestral mountain. According to the Bishops’ Conference materials, Father Bang Yun-seok Bernardo, who was in charge of the shrine development project, confirmed through collection of historical sources and field surveys in 1981 that there are three sites in all, distinguishing them as the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 row tombs. The No. 1 row tombs consisted of 14 graves (17 graves according to the testimony of Father O Gi-seon), and non-believing members of the Choi family, claiming they were ownerless graves, moved them, so 3 graves were exhumed and lost. The No. 2 row tombs consist of 10 graves located about 20 m below to the southwest of the No. 1 row tombs, and the No. 3 row tombs consist of 13 graves beyond the ridge 100 m from the No. 1 row tombs, for a total of 37 graves. It has not been confirmed how many remains are in each tomb, but the mounds are unusually large, so it is highly likely that each tomb holds the remains of several persons. The Diocese of Daejeon erected tombstones for the unknown martyrs in 1982. The Bishops’ Conference materials state that opinions are divided as to whether these are the graves of Darakgol martyrs or of Haemi or Galmaemot (Boryeong) martyrs.

[Development of the Shrine] According to Good News, in 2003 the Diocese of Daejeon appointed a resident priest to the Darakgol Shrine in Cheongyang to oversee the development and preservation of the shrine and the pastoral care of pilgrims and nearby faithful. To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the diocese’s establishment, on November 9, 2008 it built and blessed a memorial church honoring the martyrdom spirituality and missionary spirit of Saint Choi Gyeong-hwan’s family and the unknown martyrs, and in October 2019 it built the Father Choi Yang-eop Memorial Hall within the shrine and held a blessing ceremony. It notes that there is a plan to provide a museum combined with a small chapel at Saeteo (the birthplace site).

Related Places and People

• Father Choi Yang-eop Thomas: the second Korean priest, born in Saeteo (shrine homepage, Good News).
• Saint Choi Gyeong-hwan Francis: born in Saeteo, canonized on May 6, 1984 (shrine homepage).
• Fathers Maubant and Chastan: French missionaries who wrote their last letter in Darakgol in 1839 and surrendered themselves in Hongju (shrine homepage).
• Choi Hae-seong (John) and Choi Dae-jong (Joseph): believers from Darakgol arrested and martyred during the Gihae Persecution (shrine homepage).
• Im Man-eok (James): from Darakgol, martyred in 1868 at age 17 (shrine homepage).

References and Sources

1. Catholic Good News, Shrines and Historic Sites, “Darakgol Shrine in Cheongyang” (Diocese of Daejeon). Formation of the Catholic village, oral tradition of the row tombs, resident priest in 2003, memorial church in 2008, Father Choi Yang-eop Memorial Hall in 2019.
   https://app.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2302
2. Cheongyang Darakgol Shrine homepage, “Refuge during the Gihae Persecution.” Hiding and surrender of Fathers Maubant and Chastan, martyrs from Darakgol.
   http://www.daracgol.or.kr/app/page/index?md_id=refuge
3. Cheongyang Darakgol Shrine homepage, “Saeteo Shrine.” Birthplace of Choi Gyeong-hwan and Choi Yang-eop, settlement of the Gyeongju Choi clan.
   http://www.daracgol.or.kr/app/page/index?md_id=saeteo
4. Episcopal Special Committee for Beatification and Canonization (Bishops’ Conference), “Related Shrines: Darakgol Shrine in Cheongyang.” Origin of the place name, 37 row tombs and background of the survey.
   https://www.cbck.or.kr/koreanmartyrs/Shrines/67