Seonggeosan Sanctuary

Overview

The Seongeosan Shrine is a shrine of the Diocese of Daejeon on Seongeosan Mountain in the Hodang-ri area of Ipjang-myeon, Cheonan-si, South Chungcheong Province, where the No. 1 and No. 2 row graves holding believers martyred during the Byeongin Persecution (1866) and unknown martyrs, and the site of the Sohakgol Catholic village are located. Good News introduces it as a rare shrine in Korea situated at a high altitude of 500 m above sea level, and the row-grave area is South Chungcheong Province Monument No. 175.

History

〔Catholic villages of Seongeosan〕 The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia states that from the early 1800s, Catholic believers fleeing persecution gathered in the Seongeosan area and formed Catholic villages, with representative villages including Sohakgol (Naban-ri, Buk-myeon), Seodeulgol (Songjeon-ri, Mokcheon-eup), Jangjadong (Singye-ri, Mokcheon-eup), Bokgujeong (Yeonchun-ri, Buk-myeon), and Bejanggol (Yanggok-ri, Buk-myeon). Believers cleared fields and paddies in the mountainous area and fired earthenware to make a living, created graves for believers in the Naban-ri area of Buk-myeon, and French priests used them as hiding places while ministering. Good News states that there were 7 Catholic villages (Seodeokgol, Meokbangi, Sohak-dong, Sarimok, Maeilgol, Seokcheon-ri, Dochon) established between the 1860s and 1920 around Seongeosan.

〔Sohakgol and missionaries〕 Good News explains that the Sohakgol Catholic village was where Father Callet and Father Peron hid during the Byeongin Persecution in 1866, and where many missionaries stayed or visited even after the persecution ended. HeritageWiki (national heritage commentary) states that French missionary Father Callet made Sohakgol a mission base for parts of Gyeongsang-do, Chungcheong-do, and Gyeonggi-do, and that as the Catholic villages of Seongeosan emerged as a center of faith, they suffered great sacrifices in the Byeongin Persecution in 1866.

〔Byeongin Persecution and martyrs〕 Good News states that 10 martyrs came from Sohakgol during the Byeongin Persecution, of whom 5 were beheaded at the Gongju magistracy and 5 were beheaded at the Seoul Podocheong. It is said that Peter Choe Cheon-yeo, Lazarus Choe Jong-yeo, Peter Bae Mun-ho, Joseph Go, and the daughter-in-law of Chae, beheaded at the Gongju magistracy, were enshrined in the No. 1 row grave at the Seongeosan Shrine (HeritageWiki states that among them, those from Sohakgol such as Bae Mun-ho, Joseph Go, Choe Cheon-yeo, and Choe Jong-yeo are undergoing procedures for beatification by the Holy See and that there are 23 confirmed martyrs, while the Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia states that those martyred in Gongju and buried in Naban-ri became an important basis for the creation of the shrine). After the Byeongin Persecution, the Catholic villages disintegrated, and several were rebuilt during the open-port period and the Japanese colonial period (Culture Encyclopedia).

〔Location and relocation of the row graves〕 The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia states that the martyrs’ graves were originally west of Sarimok Village at Gunghyeongji (toward Naban-ri, Buk-myeon), but in 1959 a road was built for a U.S. military base and they were moved east below the road (San 46-1 in Naban-ri, Buk-myeon), taking on their present form. Good News states that when the U.S. air base stationed on the summit of Seongeosan built the road in 1959, there were 107 grave mounds above the road, and that there are 38 mounds in the No. 1 row grave and 36 mounds in the No. 2 row grave, but bodies overlap so the actual number of martyrs buried is far greater, and it is the resting place of countless unknown martyrs who lived in the Naepo region and were martyred.

〔Excavation and shrine designation (1997–1998)〕 According to the Culture Encyclopedia, on October 26, 1997 the Diocese of Daejeon confirmed the martyrs’ graves (38 mounds in the No. 1 row grave, 36 mounds in the No. 2 row grave) and developed the cemetery, and on March 21, 1998, in the course of excavating 7 graves behind the No. 2 row grave, a rosary, a crucifix, and a bronze cross were found in the fourth grave. The remains of the owner of this grave were enshrined in the first grave on the right of the No. 2 row grave, and the crucifix and cross are held by the Daejeon Catholic University Museum. On July 22, 1998 it was designated as the ‘Seongeosan Martyrs’ Shrine’ and on September 25 a shrine consecration ceremony officiated by the head of the Diocese of Daejeon was held.

〔Shrine development and cultural heritage designation (2004–2021)〕 From February 2004 a priest dedicated to the shrine was dispatched, and in November 2005 a site for a church and rectory (2 in Hodang-ri, Ipjang-myeon) was prepared, and on May 7, 2011 the church was completed and a blessing ceremony was held (Culture Encyclopedia). Good News states that in May 2011 a church and the Susanna Retreat House were completed at the entrance to the shrine and in October 2021 a Byeongin Persecution 150 anniversary memorial church on a 2-story scale was built and blessed on the summit section of the Seongeosan shrine. On December 22, 2008 it was designated as South Chungcheong Province Monument No. 175, and on November 19, 2021 the designation number was abolished by notification of the Cultural Heritage Administration and it was redesignated as a South Chungcheong Province Monument. The Culture Encyclopedia states that from 2008 it was also opened as a space for citizens, with a wildflower exhibition honoring unknown martyrs every May and an autumn concert in October, and that it has had a retreat house since 2011.

Architecture and Grounds

The Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia states that the shrine consists of the No. 1 row grave (38 mounds) and the No. 2 row grave (36 mounds) and the Catholic village site in the San 46-1 area of Naban-ri, Buk-myeon, Cheonan-si, and that a church was completed on May 7, 2011 on the church and rectory site (2 in Hodang-ri, Ipjang-myeon). Good News explains that there are a church and the Susanna Retreat House at the entrance to the shrine and a Byeongin Persecution 150 anniversary memorial church on a 2-story scale blessed in October 2021 on the summit section of Seongeosan. The Culture Encyclopedia states that the Mass venue is the shrine rest area from March to November and the new church in winter (December to February).

Related Places and People

• Sohakgol Catholic village site: the Catholic village where Father Callet and Father Peron hid during the Byeongin Persecution (Good News).
• Gongju magistracy: where 5 Sohakgol martyrs were beheaded (Good News).
• Seoul Podocheong: where 5 Sohakgol martyrs were beheaded (Good News).
• Daejeon Catholic University Museum: holds the rosary, crucifix, and bronze cross found in the row graves (Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Catholic Good News Shrines and Historic Sites, “Seongeosan Shrine” (Diocese of Daejeon). 7 Catholic villages and Sohakgol, 10 martyrs of the Byeongin Persecution, number of grave mounds in row graves, memorial church blessed in 2011–2021.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2304
2. Digital Cheonan Culture Encyclopedia, “Cheonan Seongeosan Catholic Village Site”. Changes of Catholic villages, relocation (1959) and excavation (1997–1998) of row graves, shrine and cultural heritage designation, current status.
   https://cheonan.grandculture.net/cheonan/toc/GC04500758
3. HeritageWiki (national heritage commentary), “Cheonan Seongeosan Catholic Village Site”. Father Callet’s mission base, 23 martyrs, beatification procedures.
   https://dh.aks.ac.kr/~heritage/wiki/index.php/%EC%B2%9C%EC%95%88_%EC%84%B1%EA%B1%B0%EC%82%B0_%EC%B2%9C%EC%A3%BC%EA%B5%90_%EA%B5%90%EC%9A%B0%EC%B4%8C%ED%84%B0