Seojitgol Shrine

Overview

Seojitgol Shrine is a shrine of the Catholic Diocese of Daejeon located in Pyeongna-ri, Misan-myeon, Boryeong-si, Chungcheongnam-do, and is the former Catholic village where the remains of Bishop Daveluy and Fathers Aumaitre and Huin, and catechist Jang Ju-gi, who were martyred at Galmaemot during the Byeongin Persecution in 1866, were enshrined until they were transferred to Nagasaki, Japan in 1882. Good News introduces this place as the third tomb where the four martyr saints stayed.

History

[Martyrdom at Galmaemot and Transfer of the Remains] Good News records that after Bishop Daveluy and Fathers Aumaitre and Huin, and catechists Hwang Seok-du and Jang Ju-gi, were martyred at Galmaemot in Boryeong-si, Chungcheongnam-do during the Byeongin Persecution in 1866, the remains of Saint Hwang Seok-du were enshrined at Sapti in Hongsan by his family. It says that the remains of the other four saints, with the help of Paul Yi Hwa-man living in Seojitgol and his sons, and the faithful of the Doanggol Catholic village, were transferred from the execution ground via the second tomb on the hill of Opo-ri to a tobacco field in Seojitgol by boat that summer.

[Pilgrimage Route and Transfer Process] The Boryeong City tourism guide explains that the Galmaemot–Seojitgol Shrine pilgrimage route is the way by which the remains of Bishop Daveluy, Father Aumaitre, Father Huin, and catechist Jang Ju-gi (Joseph) were moved by the faithful from Galmaemot in Ocheon-myeon to Seojitgol Shrine in Misan-myeon. It records that the faithful carried the remains by sea and mountain paths for 12 days amid rough seas and thunderstorms and enshrined them at Seojitgol, and that two months later those faithful were also discovered and martyred. The 9.5km land route over which the saints’ remains were carried is the shrine pilgrimage route, and it says the pilgrimage route starts at Wanjang Port and ends at Seojitgol, where they had been enshrined for 16 years from 1866 to 1882.

[Movement of the Remains and the People of Seojitgol] The Digital Boryeong Culture Encyclopedia writes that Seojitgol was a Catholic village formed in a remote mountain area by Catholics fleeing persecution in the 19 century. It says that the faithful living in Seojitgol, including Yi Chi-mun, brought the remains of 4 saints martyred at Galmaemot—Bishop Daveluy, Father Aumaitre, Father Huin, and Jang Ju-gi—to Seojitgol and enshrined them there for 16 years until the remains were moved to Nagasaki, Japan in 1882. It explains that the faithful who took part in transferring the remains, including Yi Chi-mun, Yi Hwa-man, and Yi Chi-seo, were later arrested and martyred or left Seojitgol to take refuge.

[Later History of the Remains and Rediscovery of Seojitgol] According to Good News, the remains of the four martyr saints were sent to Nagasaki, Japan in 1882, then passed through Yongsan Sacred Heart Seminary in 1894 and the crypt of Myeongdong Church in 1900, and were enshrined at Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine in 1967. It says that Father Leo Jeong Gyu-ryang of Geumsari Parish in Buyeo identified its location to commemorate the beatification of 79 martyrs of the Gihae and Byeongo Persecutions in 1925, but afterward it became a land forgotten in Church history, and that from 2007 onward, as Father Yun Jong-gwan took up residence at the Mansuri Catholic mission chapel in Buyeo, the lower Naepo region—which had been Bishop Daveluy’s principal pastoral field and where numerous Catholic villages had formed—became known.

[Proclamation as a Shrine and Blessing] Good News writes that in January 2012 the Diocese of Daejeon proclaimed the lower Naepo region a shrine and appointed Father Yun Jong-gwan as full-time director, so full-scale development of the sacred precinct proceeded and the blessing ceremony for Seojitgol Shrine was held in October 2013. The Digital Boryeong Culture Encyclopedia also explains that Seojitgol Shrine, as the burial place of the saints martyred at Galmaemot and as the remains of a Catholic village, was developed into a Catholic shrine in 2013.

Architecture and Grounds

The Digital Boryeong Culture Encyclopedia writes that Seojitgol Shrine lies along the local road leading from Dongo-ri to Neukjeon-ri southwest of Boryeong Lake, and consists, on a site of 886 m², of the martyrs’ altar stone for the 4 martyr saints of Galmaemot, a monument honoring the martyrs, a shrine information stele, a parking lot, and other facilities. Good News explains that the shrine, built along the road beside Boryeong Lake, is equipped with an outdoor altar shaped like the tomb of the four martyr saints, a monument honoring the martyrs, a pavilion, rest facilities, and more. Management is entrusted to the Catholic Diocese of Daejeon Foundation for the Maintenance of Church Property (Digital Boryeong Culture Encyclopedia).

Related Places and People

• Galmaemot Martyrs’ Shrine: the place where the four saints and Saint Hwang Seok-du were martyred in 1866, and the starting point of the shrine pilgrimage route leading to Seojitgol (Boryeong City).
• Sapti: the place where the remains of Saint Hwang Seok-du are enshrined (Good News).
• Doanggol Catholic Village: where the faithful helped Yi Hwa-man and his sons transfer the remains (Good News).
• Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine: the place where the remains of the four saints were enshrined in 1967 (Good News).

References and Sources

1. Catholic Good News, Shrines and Historic Sites, “Seojitgol Shrine” (Diocese of Daejeon). Circumstances of the transfer of the remains, identification of the location in 1925, proclamation as a shrine in 2012, blessing ceremony in October 2013.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=4200
2. Digital Boryeong Culture Encyclopedia, “Seojitgol Shrine.” Character of the Catholic village, enshrinement of the remains and participants in the transfer, development as a shrine in 2013, site area and layout.
   https://boryeong.grandculture.net/boryeong/toc/GC08800911
3. Boryeong City Hall Culture and Tourism, “Shrine Pilgrimage Route.” The pilgrimage route from Galmaemot to Seojitgol and the process of carrying the remains.
   https://tour.brcn.go.kr/tour/sub02_02_02.do