Yong-su Shrine

Overview

Yongsu Shrine is a shrine of the Jeju Diocese, the port at Yongsu-ri, Hangyeong-myeon, Jeju, where the party of Saint Father Andrew Kim Dae-geon, who had received priestly ordination in Shanghai, China in 1845 and was returning home, encountered a storm aboard the Raphael and drifted ashore. It includes the Memorial Hall and Memorial Church for Saint Father Kim Dae-geon’s Arrival in Jeju and the restored Raphael.

History

According to Good News, while still a deacon Kim Dae-geon briefly returned home, purchased a boat and named it ‘Raphael,’ then on April 30, 1845 left Jemulpo Port with 11 believers for Shanghai, and on August 17 of the same year received priestly ordination from Bishop Ferréol, the 3 head of the Joseon Diocese, at Kimgahang Church. On August 31, he left Shanghai Port aboard the Raphael with Bishop Ferréol and Father Daveluy.

Three days after departure, they met a storm in the West Sea and drifted, and on September 28 drifted ashore at Yongsu-ri port. The party repaired the boat there for 2–3 days and prepared food and other provisions, left the port on October 1, and on October 12 arrived at Nabawi on the lower Geum River. The Catholic Newspaper reports that Father Kim Dae-geon offered his first Mass on his homeland here.

The Jeju Diocese restored the Raphael through expert historical verification as a project commemorating the 100 anniversary of evangelization in Jeju in 1999 (length 13.5m, width 4.8m, depth 2.1m). In September of that year it had planned a maritime shrine pilgrimage departing from Shanghai, but because the Chinese government did not cooperate, the ship could not be unloaded at Shanghai and sailed from the high seas to Jeju, entering Yongsu-ri port on September 19. Bishop Kim Chang-ryeol proclaimed Yongsu-ri port a shrine on that day.

After completing the voyage, the Raphael was preserved in the yard of Sinchang Church, then moved to the lawn plaza in front of it when the Memorial Hall for Father Kim Dae-geon’s Arrival in Jeju was built on November 1, 2006. On September 20, 2008, the Memorial Church for Saint Father Kim Dae-geon’s Arrival in Jeju was built next to the Memorial Hall and its dedication was celebrated.

Founded on September 1, 1949 under Jeju Parish (now Jungang Cathedral Parish), the Yongsu Catholic mission chapel became a Catholic mission chapel under Sinchang Parish on June 29, 1952, and moved into the shrine when the Memorial Church was built in 2008. On October 31, 2009, the Mass commemorating the 60 anniversary of the founding of the Yongsu Catholic mission chapel was offered here. On September 25, 2010, a statue of Father Kim Dae-geon was erected on the lawn plaza to commemorate the 165 anniversary of the arrival, and on October 28, 2017, the Memorial Hall was remodeled and a new rectory built, with a blessing ceremony.

Architecture and Space

The Memorial Hall was built in a 2-story concrete structure where Yongsu-ri port can be seen below, and its exterior was modeled on the form of the Raphael. Inside are the veneration room for Father Kim Dae-geon’s relics, a video room, exhibition rooms, and more. The Catholic Newspaper reports that the 555.37㎡ Memorial Hall has a relic veneration room, video room, and religious-goods shop on the 1 floor and exhibition rooms on the 2 floor, with the exhibition halls arranged as the ‘Father Kim Dae-geon Hall,’ the ‘Jeju Church History Hall,’ and the ‘Deceased Priests of the Jeju Diocese Hall.’

The facade of the Memorial Church reproduces Kimgahang Church in Shanghai, where Father Kim Dae-geon received priestly ordination, and the roof embodies the rough waves and the Raphael. The lighthouse-shaped bell tower symbolizes the Catholic Church that guides by shining light in darkness and Father Kim Dae-geon’s missionary resolve. The Catholic Newspaper gives the shrine area as 1 ten thousand 4190㎡.

The restored Raphael is an engineless wooden boat with a total tonnage of 27.2 tons and can be boarded. The statue of ‘Mary, conceived without original sin’ beside the Raphael was erected modeled on the ‘Miraculous Medal image’ that Father Kim Dae-geon kept.

Religious Significance and Context for Visiting

Yongsu Shrine is the climax of the ‘Kim Dae-geon Trail,’ the first pilgrimage route opened by the Jeju Diocese. According to the Catholic Newspaper (2020), the Kim Dae-geon Trail is a 12.6km coastal trail starting at Gosan Church and ending at Sinchang Church, with Yongsu Shrine at the 8.2km point. This trail overlaps with the area near Suwolbong, Jagunae Port, Saengigijeong Badang-gil, and others.

Related Places and People

• Sinchang Church: the parish that once preserved the Raphael and administered the Yongsu Catholic mission chapel, and the terminus of the Kim Dae-geon Trail.
• Gosan Church: the starting point of the Kim Dae-geon Trail.
• Nabawi: the point on the lower Geum River where the party arrived on October 12, 1845 after leaving Jeju.

References and Sources

1. Good News Catholic Information, Yongsu Shrine of the Jeju Diocese (Memorial Church for Saint Father Kim Dae-geon’s Arrival in Jeju). Confirmed the journey in 1845, the restoration of the Raphael and proclamation of the shrine in 1999, the Memorial Hall in 2006, the Memorial Church in 2008, the Yongsu Catholic mission chapel, and the projects in 2010 and 2017.
   https://maria.catholic.or.kr/sa_ho/list/view.asp?ctxtOrgNum=2371&menugubun=holyplace
2. The Catholic Newspaper, [Where the Lord Is, I Want to Go There] Memorial Church and Memorial Hall for Saint Father Kim Dae-geon’s Arrival in Jeju (September 15, 2020). Confirmed the shrine area, Memorial Hall size and exhibits, Raphael specifications, Marian statue, and Kim Dae-geon Trail sections.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/202009150244663