Yeosan Martyrs' Shrine

Overview

Yeosan Shrine is a shrine of the Diocese of Jeonju in Yeosan-myeon, Iksan-si, Jeonbuk, and is a martyrdom site where Catholic faithful brought from Gosan, Jinsan, Geumsan and other places in Yeosan-gun were executed during the Mujin Persecution in 1868. The Yeosan Supjeongi Martyrs' Shrine and the Yeosan Baekjisa-teo Shrine together are called 'Yeosan Shrine' and are known as shrine No. 2 of the Diocese of Jeonju.

History

The Catholic Diocese of Jeonju introduces Yeosan as a martyrdom shrine where many Catholics gave their lives to witness to the faith 2 years after the Byeongin Persecution, in the mujin year 1868. The number of martyrs confirmed by records is 25, and by tradition it is estimated that at least more than 40 were martyred. Good News writes that 25 martyrs are recorded in the 'Diary of Martyrdom' and other records and that by oral tradition there are more than 50, and it reports that the monument at the shrine bears the phrase stating records alone name 22. One entry in the Digital Iksan Culture Encyclopedia writes that about 12 people were martyred, so the figures differ from source to source.

According to Good News, the place where the local magistrate interrogated the faithful and pronounced death sentences was the Yeosan Dongheon government office, and the believers were executed by beheading, hanging, and baekji execution. In baekji execution, the hands of the captured faithful were tied behind their backs, water was sprayed on their faces, and then many layers of white paper were pasted on to suffocate them. The Catholic Diocese of Jeonju explains that the faithful were executed at Yeosan Prison, Supjeongi, the marketplace, Gigeumteo, and Yeosan Bridge, and that in prison, despite severe torture and hunger, they prayed together and encouraged one another. The anecdote has also been handed down that in prison, suffering from hunger, they ate the cotton wadding inside their clothes.

17 of the executed faithful were people from Neolbeun Bawi in Gosan, and in particular the martyrdom of 6 members of the family of Kim Seong-cheom remains as a representative story of 'Neolbeun Bawi' (Gwangam-ri, Dongsang-myeon, Wanju-gun), now submerged under the Daea-ri Reservoir (Good News). Kim Seong-cheom testified, including his nephew Kim Myeong-eon and 3 brothers such as Jeonggyu and Jeongeon and their sons and others over 3 generations totaling 6 persons, that the faith of 17 people in one village was all taught by himself.

In 1983, the Diocese of Jeonju, on the basis of trustworthy oral traditions, excavated the remains of ten Yeosan martyrs, including James Kim Seong-hwa, and enshrined them in the burial ground of the Cheonho Shrine (Diocese of Jeonju). On December 16 of the same year, it purchased the Baekjisa-teo site in front of the Yeosan Dongheon and the Yeosan Supjeongi Martyrs' Shrine and began to develop them as historic sites (Digital Iksan Culture Encyclopedia).

According to Good News, the Yeosan parish purchased more than 4 thousand pyeong of fields near Supjeongi in early 1980 and has devoted itself to developing the shrine. On October 19, 2007, Yeosan Supjeongi was designated as Jeollabuk-do Monument No. 125, and with the support of Iksan City, full-scale development of the shrine was promoted from 2008. A park development project to provide walking trails, a parking lot, a fountain, an outdoor shrine experience area, a retreat house and other facilities on about 3 ten thousand 3000 square meters around Supjeongi was promoted step by step, a new outdoor altar and central plaza were completed at the end of 2009, and in 2014 a parking lot and restrooms at the shrine entrance and 14 Stations of the Cross were prepared.

Architecture and Space

According to Good News, at the Supjeongi shrine there is a large monument inscribed 'Yeosan Martyrs' Shrine,' with the Gothic-style Yeosan church opposite. The Digital Iksan Culture Encyclopedia explains that the Baekjisa-teo shrine is located in the front yard of the Yeosan Dongheon, east of the Yeosan Supjeongi Martyrs' Shrine, south of Yeosan Church, and west of Yeosan Elementary School. Here there are an information marker stone, a crucifix, and a Way of the Cross laid out with fourteen stations, and beneath the cross lies a granite sculpture depicting a believer suffering baekji execution. In the Dongheon yard there is also the Yeosan Cheokhwabi Monument, Iksan City Local Heritage No. 7.

Yeosan Dongheon was the government office of Yeosan-bu in Jeolla-do and is a Jeollabuk-do tangible cultural heritage; after Liberation it was used as the Yeosan Post Office and the village senior citizens' hall. The Yeosan Elementary School opposite is known as the site of the former prison, but no trace can be found today (Digital Iksan Culture Encyclopedia).

Religious Significance and Visiting Context

The Digital Iksan Culture Encyclopedia explains that Yeosan-myeon was then an administrative center on the border of Chungcheong-do and Jeolla-do, and that because many believers gathered seeking to form a faith community centered on the Daedunsan and Cheonhosan areas, there were many believers and thus many martyrs.

The Catholic Diocese of Jeonju introduces that a walking pilgrimage is possible, with 8km from Yeosan to Cheonho Shrine and 14km to Nabawi Shrine. Good News writes that the roughly 8km road over Cheonhosan was paved in 1987 to mark the 50 anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of Jeonju.

Related Places and People

• Cheonho Shrine: the place where the remains of ten Yeosan martyrs are enshrined.
• Nabawi Shrine: a walking-pilgrimage link 14km from Yeosan.
• Yeosan Church: the parish that administers the shrine.
• Thomas Kim Seong-cheom: a representative figure of the Gosan Neolbeun Bawi Catholic village martyred in Yeosan.

References and Sources

1. Good News Catholic Information, Yeosan Martyrs' Shrine in the Diocese of Jeonju (Supjeongi). Confirmed the monument inscription, number of martyrs, baekji execution, the family of Kim Seong-cheom, the land purchase in 1980, the monument designation in 2007 and shrine development after 2008.
   https://maria.catholic.or.kr/sa_ho/list/view.asp?ctxtOrgNum=2376&menugubun=holyplace
2. Catholic Diocese of Jeonju, Yeosan Martyrs' Shrine. Confirmed estimates of martyrs, places and methods of execution, excavation of remains in 1983, and walking-pilgrimage distances.
   https://www.jcatholic.or.kr/theme/main/pages/terrasanta06.php
3. Digital Iksan Culture Encyclopedia, Yeosan Baekjisa-teo Shrine. Confirmed the purchase on December 16, 1983, the Dongheon and prison site, shrine facilities, the Yeosan Cheokhwabi Monument, and significance.
   http://www.grandculture.net/iksan/toc/GC07500394
4. Digital Iksan Culture Encyclopedia, Supjeongi and Baekjisa-teo, Places of Execution. Confirmed the martyrdom stories of Supjeongi and Baekjisa-teo.
   https://www.grandculture.net/iksan/toc/GC07501404