Chorokbawi Martyrdom Site

Overview

The Chorokbawi Shrine is a martyrdom site of the Diocese of Jeonju in Dongwansan-dong, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, Jeonbuk, where Nam Myeong-hui, the son of Saint Nam Jong-sam martyred during the Byeongin Persecution (1866), and the son of the martyr Hong Bong-ju were drowned and martyred. It is the cliff section where the end of Gonjisan meets Jeonjucheon, and it is designated as Future Heritage No. 16 of Jeonju, ‘Gonjisan Chorokbawi’. It is known as a place where not only Catholic faithful but also Donghak peasant troops were executed.

History

The Catholic Diocese of Jeonju explains that after Nam Jong-sam was executed, his father Nam Sang-gyo and his eldest son Nam Myeong-hui were transferred to the Gongju Gamyeong. Under the national law forbidding a grandfather and grandson from being confined in the same prison, Nam Myeong-hui, then 14 years old, was transferred to the Jeonju Gamyeong, and his execution was postponed until the following year when he would become an adult (15 years old), remaining in prison. The following year, Nam Myeong-hui was put to death by hanging at Chorokbawi beside Jeonjucheon, and his body was drowned in Jeonjucheon. The Diocese of Jeonju records that Nam Myeong-hui’s family received the glory of martyrdom over 3 generations.

Good News Catholic Information explains that Nam Jong-sam and Hong Bong-ju received the severe punishment of having their whole families executed or enslaved and their family property confiscated, but because their sons were young, they were imprisoned in Jeonju prison according to the custom of the time and, after reaching the required age, were pushed into Jeonjucheon in autumn 1867 and killed. In the same introduction, Good News writes that Nam Jong-sam was martyred outside Seosomun, while the Diocese of Jeonju introduction writes that he was martyred at Saenamteo, so the wording differs by source.

Yonhap News reports that Chorokbawi near Jeonju Nambu Market was a place where criminals were beheaded and their heads exposed in the Joseon period, and that it is known as a martyrdom site where Catholic faithful in late Joseon were executed and as the place where Kim Gae-nam, a leader of the Donghak peasant army, was executed. By contrast, an article carried by Sisa Jeonbuk argues that there is no basis for viewing Chorokbawi as the site of Kim Gae-nam’s death, and explains that Chorokbawi is where Seo Yeong-do, the Jeonju Jeopju of Donghak, was publicly executed in spring 1895. The article notes that in 1994, the centenary year of the Donghak Peasant Revolution, the Kyunghyang Shinmun summarized the site of Kim Gae-nam’s death as five places — Seogyojang, Jangdae, Supjeongi, below Gongbungnu, and Chorokbawi — saying which place it was could not be asserted with certainty.

In December 2017, the city of Jeonju designated 20 assets containing incidents, figures, and stories experienced or remembered by citizens as ‘Future Heritage’, including ‘Gonjisan Chorokbawi’ among them (Jeonbuk Ilbo). On June 29, 2016, the 1th Chorokbawi Memorial Ceremony was held on the summit of Gonjisan Chorokbawi, hosted by the Jeonju branch of the Korean People’s Artists Federation, with more than 40 people including Seohak-dong residents and artists attending. On that occasion, the head of Jeonju’s Traditional Culture Division said the city planned to create a Donghak Peasant Revolution history belt centered on the Chorokbawi site (Jeonbuk Ilbo).

The Jeonju History Museum held the special exhibition ‘Donghak and Seohak Met at Chorokbawi’ from May 1, 2025 to October 12. The exhibition consisted of three parts: Catholic faithful martyred in connection with the 1894 Wansan Battle and the establishment of the Jipgangso, the 1791 Sinhae Persecution and the 1801 Sinyu Persecution; American missionaries who first set foot in Jeonju in 1893; and Chorokbawi steeped in the blood of Donghak peasant soldiers and Catholic martyrs (Yonhap News).

Architecture and space

According to Good News, Chorokbawi is the cliff section leading from the end of Gonjisan to Jeonjucheon, but as the road was widened and a stone embankment was built, its former appearance is now hard to recognize. To honor the martyrdom spirit of the two boy martyrs, the Diocese of Jeonju installed a martyrdom memorial mosaic mural beside the road along Jeonjucheon near Ssajeondari Bridge in May 2006.

Religious significance and visiting context

Good News introduces this place as ‘the place where the son of Saint Nam Jong-sam and the son of Hong Bong-ju were drowned and martyred’, and notes that the Mass schedule of the shrine follows that of Jeondong Church. The Diocese of Jeonju presents the inquiry number of Jeondong Church as the contact for the Chorokbawi martyrdom site.

Related places and people

• Jeondong Church: the church in charge of Masses and inquiries for the Chorokbawi martyrdom site.
• Nam Jong-sam: the saint martyred during the Byeongin Persecution, whose eldest son Nam Myeong-hui was martyred at Chorokbawi.
• Nam Myeong-hui: the eldest son of Nam Jong-sam, who was transferred to the Jeonju Gamyeong at the age of 14 and was martyred at Chorokbawi the following year.
• Hong Bong-ju: the man martyred together with Nam Jong-sam, whose son was drowned at Chorokbawi.
• Jeonju Supjeongi: the place that the Sisa Jeonbuk article views as the site of Kim Gae-nam’s death.

References and sources

1. Good News Catholic Information, Chorok Rock. Verified the circumstances of martyrdom, the drowning in autumn 1867, the changes due to road widening, the installation of the mosaic mural in May 2006, and the Mass schedule.
   https://m.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2364
2. Catholic Diocese of Jeonju, Chorokbawi Shrine. Verified Nam Myeong-hui’s transfer to the Jeonju Gamyeong, his hanging and drowning, and the martyrdom over 3 generations.
   https://www.jcatholic.or.kr/theme/gyogu/sub/m1/0309.php
3. Yonhap News, Jeonju History Museum special exhibition ‘Donghak and Seohak Met at Chorokbawi’ (April 30, 2025). Verified the location and history of Chorokbawi, Future Heritage No. 16, and the composition of the special exhibition.
   https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20250430083000055
4. Jeonbuk Ilbo, Jeonju city selects ‘Future Heritage’ to become treasures after 100 years (December 2017). Verified the designation of Gonjisan Chorokbawi as Future Heritage.
   https://www.jjan.kr/article/20171220628417
5. Jeonbuk Ilbo, Consoling the dead buried in Chorokbawi’s history (June 30, 2016). Verified the 1th Chorokbawi Memorial Ceremony and the plan to create a history belt.
   https://www.jjan.kr/article/20160630585452
6. Sisa Jeonbuk, Where is the ‘Seogyojang’ site of Kim Gae-nam’s death (March 2018). Verified the debate over the site of Kim Gae-nam’s death and the claim about Seo Yeong-do’s execution.
   http://m.sisajb.com/view.php?idx=36283