Haemi Martyrs International Shrine

Overview

The Haemi Martyrs International Shrine is a martyrs’ shrine of the Diocese of Daejeon located at Yeosutgol (live-burial site) in Eupnae-ri, Haemi-myeon, Seosan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, commemorating the many martyrs executed at the Haemi garrison in the late Joseon period. The Catholic Newspaper introduces it as the first and only international shrine of the Korean Church where a papal plenary indulgence can be received.

History

[Haemi Garrison and Catholic Persecution] Good News explains that the town of Haemi was a place with a garrison for coastal defense in the Naepo area in the mid-Joseon period, and that the garrison commander concurrently served as county magistrate, ruled the area, and had the authority to independently execute state criminals. The Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia writes that Haemi, which handled military and public order while combining the roles of the Hoseo Left Camp and the patrol camp, became a forward base for the suppression of Catholicism in the Naepo region, that persecution in Haemi is first traced to the record that Park Chwi-deuk (Laurence) from Myeoncheon was punished in 1791, and that it is confirmed that In Eon-min (Martino) from Deoksan and Lee Bo-hyeon were the first to be martyred in Haemi by beating in 1800. Good News writes that from 1790 to 1890, over a period of 100-odd years, the Haemi garrison executed numerous Catholics as state criminals.

[Methods of Execution] According to the official shrine website and Good News, the prison of the Haemi garrison was filled with arrested faithful, who were dragged out every day beyond the west gate and died by hanging, decapitation, flogging, stoning, death by wrapping in white paper, and death by freezing, and there was also jari-gae beating in which limbs were held on the stone bridge and bodies were slammed against stones. From the Byeongin year in 1866 to the Mujin year in 1868, during the great persecution, live burial and drowning were also used to simplify the handling of bodies. The Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia writes that Haemi martyrs surged in 1866, when the Byeongin Western Disturbance occurred, and in 1868, when the tomb-robbery incident of Prince Namyeon occurred.

[Number of Martyrs] The Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia writes that the number of people in Haemi whose martyr list is confirmed is 179, with 10 in 1800–1839 and 122 in the Byeongin persecution period from 1866, and that adding 47 more whose names are unknown but whose martyrdom is clear from records brings Haemi martyrs in the Byeongin persecution to 169. The shrine website explains that it counts 132 well-known martyrs of Haemi, and adding at least 47 unknown martyrs brings the martyrs confirmed by records to at least 179. Among 67 whose form of martyrdom is confirmed, hanging is the most common with 33, decapitation and prison death 5 each, illness 4, live burial 3, beating to death 3, and unknown 14. Good News writes that among the martyrs estimated at several thousand, those whose names and birthplaces survive number 70-odd. Including In Eon-min and Lee Bo-hyeon before the Sinyu Persecution and Kim Jin-hu (Pio), who died in prison in 1814 before the Gihae Persecution, 8 were martyred (shrine website).

[Identification and Commemoration of Martyrdom Sites (1935–1989)] The shrine website writes that in 1935, Father Beom Peter (Beom Baro) of Seosan Parish excavated the remains and relics of the martyrs and temporarily buried them in the Sanghong-ri Catholic mission chapel outside 30-ri, and that on the martyrs’ feast day in 1995 they were reinterred in front of the martyrdom tower at the original live-burial martyrdom site. The jari-gae stone bridge at the martyrdom site beyond the west gate was moved to Seosan Church in 1956 for preservation, returned to its original location in 1986 (the Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia says August 29), and moved to Yeosutgol in January 2009. The Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia writes that in October 1975 the martyrdom tower at the Josan-ri live-burial martyrdom site was erected, that on the occasion of the canonization of 103 Korean martyrs by Pope John Paul 2 in 1984 for the 200 anniversary of the Catholic Church in Korea, the live-burial site was purchased, and that in 1985 Seosan Haemi Church was established and in June the Haemi Martyrs Memorial Association was launched. On June 24, 1989, the martyrdom monument beyond the west gate was unveiled, whose inscription was composed and written by Father Gabriel Yun Jong-gwan, then pastor of Seosan Haemi Church.

[Development of the Shrine (1998–2009)] The Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia writes that by the end of 1998 about 23,100㎡ of land had been secured and that from 2001 it became independent from Seosan Haemi Church and independently carried out the sanctuary project, and that on June 17, 2003 the Unnamed Martyrs church was completed. Good News writes that behind the church a relics-veneration room in the form of tombs was built, that it was newly refurbished as the Haemi Martyrs Memorial Hall in 2009, and that it was designated and officially announced as a cultural property of Chungcheongnam-do in 2008.

[Visit of Pope Francis (2014)] Good News writes that on August 17, 2014 Pope Francis visited Haemi Shrine to take part in the 6 Asian Youth Day, met with Asian bishops, and celebrated the closing Mass at Haemi Eupseong. The Catholic Newspaper reports that on that day the Pope presided over the blessing ceremony for the beatification monuments of the three Blesseds martyred in Haemi, Martino In Eon-min, Francisco Lee Bo-hyeon, and Pio Kim Jin-hu, and prayed long before Jindumbeong, repeating “without names.”

Architecture and Space

The Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia writes that the Haemi Martyrs Shrine is laid out as a memorial park of about 28,400㎡ along Haemi Stream. Its main facilities are the cathedral with 700 seats completed on June 17, 2003 and the small church with 200 seats, and the names of donors for its construction are engraved in the circular corridor beneath the church. Behind the church stands a circular memorial hall shaped like martyrs’ tombs, with martyrdom paintings and sculptures installed inside, and the martyrs’ remains excavated at the shrine are enshrined there. On the west side of the shrine are preserved the Jindumbeong martyrdom site and the jari-gae stones from the execution-ground path at Haemi Eupseong, as well as martyrs’ tombs, and there are a large outdoor lawn plaza for large gatherings, the martyrdom tower at the Josan-ri live-burial martyrdom site, and a cafeteria. The shrine website explains that Haemi is the only place in Korea where a live-burial martyrdom site and the remains of its martyrs have been identified, excavated, and preserved.

Related Places and People

• Haemi Eupseong: the place where martyrs were tortured and executed, where the prison site where the faithful were confined and the hoya tree used as a torture post remain (shrine website). The magistrate’s office and prison have been restored (Good News).
• Martyrdom site beyond the west gate of Haemi Eupseong: the official execution ground where Catholics whose sentences had been fixed were executed, where a martyrdom monument stands (Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Hanti Pass: the road along which martyrs were escorted to Haemi, recorded in Dallet’s History of the Catholic Church in Korea (shrine website).
• Jindumbeong: around the place where martyrs died by live burial and drowning, the Way of the Cross and an open-air church have been laid out (Good News).
• Martino In Eon-min, Francisco Lee Bo-hyeon, Pio Kim Jin-hu: 3 Blesseds martyred in Haemi, beatified in 2014 (Catholic Newspaper).

References and Sources

1. Official website of the Haemi International Shrine, history (shrine introduction). Persecution and execution methods at the Haemi garrison, number and forms of martyrs, excavation of remains in 1935 and reinterment in 1995, Hanti Pass.
   http://haemi.or.kr/about/history
2. Catholic Good News shrines and historic sites, “Haemi Martyrs Shrine” (Diocese of Daejeon). Haemi garrison, methods of martyrdom, Unnamed Martyrs memorial church (2003), memorial hall (2009), papal visit in 2014.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2312
3. Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia, “Haemi Martyrs Shrine.” Background and timeline of construction (1975–2003), site and facilities.
   https://seosan.grandculture.net/seosan/toc/GC04101285
4. Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia, “Martyrdom Site beyond the West Gate of Haemi Eupseong.” Execution ground beyond the west gate, return of jari-gae stones (1986), martyrdom monument (1989).
   https://seosan.grandculture.net/seosan/toc/GC04101294
5. Digital Seosan Culture Encyclopedia, “Catholic Haemi Martyrdom.” Background and course of the Haemi martyrdom events, tally and characteristics of 179 martyrs.
   http://www.grandculture.net/seosan/toc/GC04101279
6. Catholic Newspaper, “[Pilgrimage, Walking and Praying] Haemi Martyrs International Shrine in the Diocese of Daejeon” (2024.8.19). Status as international shrine and blessing of beatification monuments at the papal visit in 2014.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/20240819500039