Gaegap Market Martyrs' Shrine

Overview

Gaegap Marketplace Martyrs’ Shrine is a shrine of the Diocese of Jeonju located in Seokgyo-ri, Gong-eum-myeon, Gochang-gun, North Jeolla, and is the martyrdom site where Blessed Matthias Choe Yeo-gyeom was beheaded during the Shinyu Persecution in 1801. The Gaegap marketplace is designated as Local Cultural Heritage No. 1 of Gochang County, and Gochang Parish of the Diocese of Jeonju together with Gochang County developed it as a Catholic shrine. The Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs has jurisdiction over the shrine.

History

According to Good News Catholic Information, the Gaegap marketplace was a market in Seokgyo-ri, Gong-eum-myeon, at the midpoint connecting Mujang town in Gochang-gun, North Jeolla, and Beopseongpo in Yeonggwang-gun, and it flourished greatly as a collection point for various products in the Joseon period. After the annexation of Korea by Japan, it was used as a supply depot and contact point for righteous armies in the late Joseon period, incurred the hatred of the Japanese authorities, was closed, and no trace can now be found. Gochang County recognized the historical and cultural value of the Gaegap marketplace and designated it as Local Cultural Heritage No. 1, but Good News gives the designation date as June 2004, while Bridge Economy gives June 2002, so sources differ. Bridge Economy introduces the Gaegap marketplace as a place where Donghak and Western Learning come together, reporting that Choe Yeo-gyeom was martyred here in 1801 and that 100 years later Donghak leaders and followers such as Jeon Bong-jun, Son Hwa-jung and Kim Gae-nam gathered here and then rose up in the nearby Gusunae Village.

Matthias Choe Yeo-gyeom (1763-1801) was born into a yangban aristocratic family in Mujang. According to Good News and the Diocese of Jeonju, he learned Catholic doctrine early from Blessed Paul Yun Ji-chung, and after marriage he met Ludovico Gonzaga Yi Jon-chang, called the Apostle of Naepo, at Hansan in Chungcheong Province, home of his wife’s family, learned the doctrine again, and became a fervent believer. After returning to his hometown, he preached the Gospel in Heungdeok, Gochang, Mujang, Yeonggwang, Hampyeong and other places, and 28 people entered the Church.

When the Shinyu Persecution broke out in 1801, Choe Yeo-gyeom fled to his wife’s family home in Hansan. Many believers, including those he had brought to the faith in Mujang, were arrested and interrogated, his name came to light in the process, and he was arrested in Hansan on April 13. After interrogation in Hansan he was transferred to Mujang by order of the governor, suffered punishment at the Mujang government office but did not yield in faith, and was moved to the Jeonju provincial office. In prison at the Jeonju provincial office he met Blessed Stanislaus Han Jeong-heum and Andrew Kim Cheon-ae (Good News).

The Diocese of Jeonju explains that when Choe Yeo-gyeom was brought before the Jeolla governor and asked why he followed heterodox learning, he answered that he followed ‘the one true religion’ and confessed the Catholic doctrine of rewarding good and punishing evil. It also reports that he said no relationship other than the marital relationship in a lawful marriage is permissible, mentioned the equality of men and women, and stressed that a man must also keep marital fidelity and therefore must give up concubines.

Choe Yeo-gyeom and his companions were then sent under guard to Hanyang and interrogated at the Podocheong and the Hyeongjo. The Hyeongjo sentenced them to death on August 21, 1801, and ordered that each be sent back to his hometown for execution. Choe Yeo-gyeom was transferred to Mujang, spent his last night in the prison of Mujang Eupseong, and was martyred by beheading at the Gaegap marketplace on August 27, 1801 (lunar July 19). He was 38 years old at the time. The Hyeongjo’s death sentence included the statement, ‘Choe Yeo-gyeom first learned Catholic doctrine from Yun Ji-chung, and thereafter followed Yi Jon-chang and firmly believed and mastered the doctrine’ (Good News). Choe Yeo-gyeom was beatified with 123 fellow martyrs by Pope Francis at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on August 16, 2014, and raised to the rank of Blessed.

According to Good News, Gochang Parish of the Diocese of Jeonju decided from 2002 together with Gochang County to develop the Gaegap marketplace as a Catholic shrine and to develop it in connection with nearby historic sites. In 2004, in the 1 phase, it purchased the site and installed a marker stone, and from 2009 it established the ‘Matthias Choe Yeo-gyeom Martyrdom Site Shrine Development Plan’ together with Gochang County and began full-scale sanctification work. On September 28, 2013, the blessing ceremony for the Matthias Choe Yeo-gyeom Martyrs’ Shrine and the martyrs’ glorification Mass were celebrated with Bishop Lee Byung-ho of the Diocese of Jeonju presiding, and in 2015 the marker stone for the martyrdom site of Blessed Matthias Choe Yeo-gyeom and the Resurrection Hill were created.

Bridge Economy reported that in October 2021 the Gochang County governor said at an executives’ meeting that storytelling linking Mujang Eupseong, the Mujang Uprising site, the Gaegap marketplace and Hagwon Farm should attract history and religion visitors.

Architecture and Space

The shrine is equipped with a martyrs’ glorification tower, an outdoor altar, a 400m-long Way of the Cross and other facilities on a site with a total area of 16,500 m² (about 5,000 pyeong) (Good News). The 12m-high martyrs’ glorification tower and the outdoor altar wall are decorated with mosaic stained-glass works on the theme of Choe Yeo-gyeom’s activities and martyrdom, produced by senior stained-glass artist Nam Yong-woo (Maria).

According to the Catholic Times’s 2019 pilgrimage article, behind the rock at the entrance to the shrine is written the biblical verse, ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake! The kingdom of heaven is theirs’ (Matthew 5,10). The stained-glass mural on the martyrs’ glorification tower depicts Choe Yeo-gyeom’s martyrdom scene and suffering fellow believers, and Station 14 of the Way of the Cross and others also have stained-glass murals expressing the Blessed’s life and spirituality. The last 15 Station of the Way of the Cross is the Resurrection Hill on the theme of the ‘empty tomb,’ with a crucifix on the upper part behind the empty tomb and a Pieta statue below.

The outdoor altar was made in the form of a dolmen, a cultural heritage of Gochang, and the stained-glass mural behind it depicts Choe Yeo-gyeom ascending to heaven guided by angels to meet Jesus Christ and 28 people baptized by him praying. Walking toward the martyrs’ glorification tower, there is the stele marking the Blessed’s beheading site. The Catholic Times introduces artist Nam Yong-woo as the great-grandson of Saint Nam Jong-sam.

Religious Significance and Visiting Context

The Catholic Times divides the evangelization of Jeolla into the inland area centered on Jeonju and the coastal area centered on Mujang, explaining that in the inland area Yu Hang-geom of Jeonju expanded the Church into Jeonju, Gosan, Jinan, Jinsan and other places, and in the coastal area Choe Yeo-gyeom’s preaching activities can be cited. Father Kim Jeong-yeol (Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs), who is in charge of the shrine, said that Choe Yeo-gyeom’s preaching activities reached not only the Gochang area but also areas under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Gwangju.

The shrine’s official website introduces that it leads pilgrims to meditate on the Blessed’s life and faith under four themes — ‘Choe Yeo-gyeom and passion for doctrine,’ ‘Choe Yeo-gyeom and his mother,’ ‘Choe Yeo-gyeom and public humiliation,’ and ‘Choe Yeo-gyeom’s martyrdom road’ — and guides that visitors can receive explanations of the themes and pilgrimage guidance.

Related Places and People

• Simwon Catholic mission chapel: a Catholic mission chapel of the Diocese of Jeonju served with the Gaegap Martyrs’ Shrine by a priest of the Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs (Catholic Times).
• Gochang Parish: the parish that has developed the Gaegap marketplace as a shrine together with Gochang County since 2002.
• Mujang Eupseong: the place where the Diocese of Jeonju explains Choe Yeo-gyeom spent his last night in prison, and a historic site Gochang County seeks to utilize in connection with the Gaegap marketplace.
• Stanislaus Han Jeong-heum and Andrew Kim Cheon-ae: fellow martyrs who were with Choe Yeo-gyeom in prison at the Jeonju provincial office.
• Paul Yun Ji-chung and Ludovico Gonzaga Yi Jon-chang: the persons who taught doctrine to Choe Yeo-gyeom.

References and Sources

1. Good News Catholic Information, Gochang Gaegap Marketplace Martyrs’ Shrine. Confirmed the character of the Gaegap marketplace and its designation as local cultural heritage, Choe Yeo-gyeom’s life and martyrdom, the development and blessing of the shrine, and the beatification.
   https://maria.catholic.or.kr/sa_ho/list/view.asp?ctxtOrgNum=4199&menugubun=holyplace
2. Catholic Diocese of Jeonju, Gaegap Marketplace Martyrs’ Shrine. Confirmed Choe Yeo-gyeom’s preaching regions and the 28 converts, the confession of faith during interrogation, the execution date, and the local cultural heritage designation.
   https://www.jcatholic.or.kr/theme/main/pages/terrasanta12.php
3. Catholic Times, Visiting the Gaegap Martyrs’ Shrine in the Diocese of Jeonju (April 2019). Confirmed the shrine facilities and Way of the Cross, outdoor altar, the division of Jeolla evangelization, and the words of the priest in charge.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/201904160024167
4. Gaegap Marketplace Shrine website, Shrine Introduction. Confirmed the four pilgrimage themes and the religious order with jurisdiction.
   https://www.gaegabjangteo.or.kr/%ED%9A%8C%EC%82%AC-%EC%86%8C%EA%B0%9C
5. Bridge Economy, Seeking Ways to Utilize Gochang County’s Gaegap Marketplace, Korea’s Only East-West Religious Sacred Site (October 2021). Confirmed the relationship between the Gaegap marketplace and Donghak, the local cultural heritage designation date (June 2002), and Gochang County’s utilization policy.
   https://www.viva100.com/article/202110184096664