Francis Kim Nan-sik and Thomas Kim Hyun-chae Tomb

Overview

The Tomb of Francis Kim Nan-sik and Thomas Kim Hyeon-chae is a holy site of the Jeonju Diocese in Jongseong-ri, Sannae-myeon, Jeongeup-si, Jeonbuk, and is the grave of Kim Nan-sik, younger brother of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon, and his nephew Kim Hyeon-chae, separated by 7 degrees of kinship. It lies on the site of the Meokguni Catholic mission chapel halfway up Mount Hoemun, where the two hid from the Byeongin Persecution (1866), and Chilbo Church, the church to which it belongs, is in charge of its management.

History

According to the Digital Jeongeup Culture Encyclopedia, Kim Nan-sik (Francis, 1827-1873) was the younger brother of Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon, who was martyred in 1846 during the Byeong-o Persecution. Kim Dae-geon was born in 1821, and Kim Nan-sik was born in 1827; this source explains that, because Kim Dae-geon’s genealogical name was Kim Ji-sik, one can see that the brothers’ names were given with “Jiran.” After Kim Dae-geon left to study in Macao, China in order to become a priest, Kim Nan-sik lived in hardship with his mother Ursula Go, after his father Saint Ignatius Kim Je-jun was martyred when he was twelve years old. In 1845, Kim Dae-geon received priestly ordination and returned to Korea, but when he was martyred only 1 years later, Kim Nan-sik wandered with his mother, relying on help from believers. He married a woman of the Andong Kim clan, but soon lost her.

The biographical account of the Jeonju Catholic Martyrs Center states that it is handed down that Kim Nan-sik was born while fleeing during the Jeonghae Persecution in 1827. In 1864, when his mother died, he laid her beside the grave of his elder brother Father Kim Dae-geon in Mirinae, Yongin. When the Byeongin Persecution broke out in 1866, he came down to Jeolla-do and entered Meokguni, a deep valley at the foot of Mount Hoemun, and lived there with Thomas Kim Hyeon-chae, his nephew from the main family branch separated by 7 degrees of kinship who had already come to Bulmu-dong on the Byeonsan Peninsula in Buan, together with believers who had fled.

According to the story handed down, when Kim Nan-sik entered Mount Hoemun, a wildfire had just occurred at Jiljae, so without much labor he cleared a slash-and-burn field and planted foxtail millet, and that year there was a great harvest, and he and his fellow believers overcame hunger by eating millet. Until 1873, Kim Nan-sik lived poorly on Mount Hoemun while clearing slash-and-burn fields, and supported himself by keeping native bees, which oral tradition says numbered 50 hives. Without wife or children, he lived a life of faith like a religious, and in 1873, at age 46, he died and was buried on Mount Hoemun. The Martyrs Center explains that the reason Kim Nan-sik left places where relatives lived and entered Meokguni, where he had no ties, was to live like a religious apart from the secular world, and notes that Meokguni is a border area of Jeongeup, Imsil, and Sunchang.

According to the Digital Jeongeup Culture Encyclopedia, Kim Hyeon-chae (Thomas, 1825-1888) was the nephew of Kim Dae-geon from the main family branch, separated by 7 degrees of kinship, and was two years older than Kim Nan-sik. While wandering with his parents to escape persecution, he lost his father, and in 1865, when he was 40 years old, he lost his mother as well; when the Byeongin Persecution broke out in 1866, he left Bulmu-dong in Buan, Jeolla-do (now Junggye-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun) and came to Meokguni to live with Kim Nan-sik. In Bulmu-dong he married Magdalena Kang, who was 10 years younger, and it is said that they lived together preserving virginity. After Kim Hyeon-chae died in 1888, Magdalena Kang moved to live below Suryu Church in Geumgu and died in 1900, and was buried in Suryu. Kim Hyeon-chae and Magdalena Kang adopted the itinerant Kim Jae-hwa as their son and had him marry, and in the genealogy Kim Yang-bae, who established the Deungyong Catholic mission chapel in Buan, is listed as the adoptive heir of Kim Hyeon-chae.

This source explains that the Mount Hoemun area where the two hid was a refuge for Catholic believers who had come to escape persecution. The believers subsisted on roots, fruits, and wild greens while clearing slash-and-burn fields, and planted tobacco on mountain slopes, kept bees, and made and sold charcoal, and then with charcoal also opened a pottery shop. Pottery was a precious means of livelihood for the believers, and the pottery shop was a focal point that gathered believers.

Architecture and Space

The Digital Jeongeup Culture Encyclopedia states that at the entrance to the cemetery there is only one explanatory sign reading “Tomb of Kim Nan-sik and Kim Hyeon-chae,” with just two graves and no fence. The slightly larger mound above is Kim Nan-sik’s grave, and the smaller mound below is Kim Hyeon-chae’s grave. With no wall or iron fence, the mounds are sometimes damaged by wild animals such as wild boars. According to this source, the Jeonju Diocese and Chilbo Church attempted several times to develop the site as a sacred place, but because the Mount Hoemun area where the graves are located is national forest, they did not receive permission, and a request to install a wall or iron fence to keep out wild animals was also denied by the Jeongeup National Forest Management Office of the Korea Forest Service. Chilbo Church maintains the turf and takes charge of grave mowing.

Religious Significance and Visiting Context

The Digital Jeongeup Culture Encyclopedia evaluates this tomb as historic remains that show the way of life at the time when Catholic believers lived in the Mount Hoemun area and the Catholic persecution. The Jeonju Diocese lists this place in its list of diocesan holy sites under the name “Kim Nan-sik’s Place of Refuge, Tomb of Thomas Kim Hyeon-chae.”

Related Places and People

• Andrew Kim Dae-geon: elder brother of Kim Nan-sik, a saint martyred in 1846 during the Byeong-o Persecution.
• Ignatius Kim Je-jun: father of Kim Nan-sik, a saint martyred in 1839 during the Gihae Persecution.
• Chilbo Church: the church to which the tomb belongs, which maintains the turf and grave mowing.
• Suryu Church: after Kim Hyeon-chae died, his wife Magdalena Kang moved to live below it, and in 1900 she died and was buried in Suryu.
• Deungyong Catholic mission chapel in Buan: the mission chapel established by Kim Yang-bae, who is listed in the genealogy as the adoptive heir of Kim Hyeon-chae.

References and Sources

1. Digital Jeongeup Culture Encyclopedia, Tomb of Francis Kim Nan-sik. Used to confirm the lives of Kim Nan-sik and Kim Hyeon-chae, the refuge in Meokguni, the form and current state of the cemetery, and the attempts at development as a sacred place.
   https://www.grandculture.net/jeongeup/toc/GC09300924
2. Jeonju Catholic Martyrs Center, Francis Kim Nan-sik. Used to confirm Kim Nan-sik’s birth, life on Mount Hoemun, death, and the reason for choosing Meokguni.
   https://www.martyr.co.kr/people/26
3. Catholic Jeonju Diocese, List of Holy Sites of Institutions and Organizations. Used to confirm that the diocese lists this tomb in its holy-site list.
   https://www.jcatholic.or.kr/theme/main/pages/group.php?strCate=k