Jeonju Okter

History & origins

Jeonju Jail was part of the judicial system of Jeonju, where the Jeolla provincial administration was located, and was used to confine and interrogate prisoners. As persecutions of Catholics continued, Catholics were also imprisoned there. Some endured long confinement before being taken to execution grounds, while others died inside the jail. The prison therefore forms a distinct part of Jeonju's martyr history, different from execution sites such as Supjeongi and the area around Jeondong.

During the Sinyu Persecution of 1801, John Yu Jung-cheol and John Yu Mun-seok were martyred there by hanging. During the Jeonghae Persecution of 1827, Paul Yi Gyeong-eon died in prison, while more than 240 Catholics were confined and interrogated during the same persecution. Diocesan records remember the Catholics who endured prolonged imprisonment and present Jeonju Jail not simply as a detention facility but as a place where faith was severely tested.

During the Gihae Persecution of 1839, Anastasia Kim Jo-i, Barbara Sim Jo-i, and Anastasia Yi Bong-geum died in prison. Together with the other martyrs linked to the site, they belong among the Jeonju martyrs beatified by Pope Francis in 2014. Their beatification helped bring renewed attention within the local Church to the long-vanished prison site and its significance as a place of martyrdom.

On September 3, 2014, the Diocese of Jeonju held a blessing ceremony for the Jeonju prison martyrdom site near what is now the rear gate of the Korea Traditional Culture Center. The location known previously through historical records was thus marked again as a place of memorial and prayer. Today the Jeonju Prison Site remembers imprisonment and death in prison during the persecutions and links the various martyrdom sites of Jeonju into a broader historical pilgrimage.