Hwangsaebawi Martyrs' Shrine

History & origins

During the Joseon period, Gongju was an administrative and military center where the Chungcheong provincial government and military institutions were located. During the persecutions, Catholics arrested throughout Chungcheong were therefore transported to Gongju for interrogation and punishment. Some died in prison or by hanging, while many were beheaded at execution grounds associated with Hwangsaebawi. Yi Jon-chang, Louis Gonzaga, who played an important role in evangelizing the Naepo region, was also beheaded at Gongju on April 9, 1801, and remains one of the representative early figures connected with the martyr history of Hwangsaebawi.

As persecution continued through the nineteenth century, Gongju saw the deaths of martyrs whose names are known as well as victims who left no surviving record. Sources count different periods and geographic ranges, making it difficult to state a precise total number for the Hwangsaebawi site alone. The meaning of the shrine therefore lies less in a single numerical total than in remembering the history of Catholics who passed through the provincial government, prisons, and execution grounds of Gongju and witnessed to their faith there.

Modern development of the shrine began in earnest in the late 1970s. Land for the sanctuary was purchased in December 1980. After responsibility for the site was transferred to Gyodong Parish in 1982, an organization for developing the sacred site was formed in March 1984. In November 1985 a martyr monument and a memorial chapel associated with a burial area bearing 248 names were completed and blessed, creating a concrete place for honoring the martyrs.

The sanctuary continued to develop in stages. The Stations of the Cross were established in 1998, additional land was acquired in 1999, and a larger church was completed and blessed in November 2002. Through this process, Hwangsaebawi—remembered as an old execution ground—became the present sanctuary where the names and deaths of the martyrs are remembered and where Mass and prayer are offered in their memory.