Servant of God Seo Eung-gwon John Martyr's Tomb

Overview

The Tomb of Servant of God John Seo Eung-gwon, Martyr, is a martyrs’ tomb of the Masan Diocese at San 106, Sirye-ri, Jinrye-myeon, Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam, where the double burial mound of layman John Seo Eung-gwon (1827–1866?) and his wife Anna Yun, martyred at the Gimhae government office during the Byeongin Persecution, was established. Seo Eung-gwon is one of the candidates for beatification included in ‘Servant of God John Baptist Yi Byeok and 132 Companions,’ and the church listed as the contact in the Daily Missal shrine guide is Jinrye Church.

History

John Seo Eung-gwon’s ancestral seat (bon-gwan) was Dalseong, his courtesy name (ja) was ‘Seongyeom,’ and ‘Eung-gwon’ was the name recorded in the family genealogy (bo-myeong). He was born into a family that had lived for generations at Norumok in Jangbang-ri, Sangbuk-myeon, Gimhae-gun, Gyeongsang-do (present-day Daehang, Jangbang-ri, Hallim-myeon, Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam), and as an adult he married Anna of the Papyeong Yun clan and had six children (Bishops’ Conference biography, Masan Diocese guide). The Masan Diocese guide records his status as a layman and his birth year as 1827, and notes that the Genealogy of the Hyeongam-gong Branch of the Dalseong Seo Clan (Daegu: Daebosa, 2001) lists John Seo Eung-gwon as born in the Jeonghae year (born in 1827).

John and Anna supported themselves by farming, embraced the Catholic faith at some point and fervently practiced its teachings, and taught the catechism to their six children, leading them to live a life of faith. When their eldest son Benedict Seo Seok-won grew up and married, in 1865 they also had the joy of seeing a grandchild (Bishops’ Conference biography).

The family’s peace was shattered by the Byeongin Persecution in 1866. When the threat of persecution reached southern Gyeongsang-do and constables descended on the village of Norumok in Gimhae, Seo Eung-gwon learned of it in advance and hid with his wife Anna inside a grass-covered tomb near the village. He thought that, since the constables had come to arrest himself and his wife, who were known as Catholics, they would not harm the other children. Returning home three days later, believing the constables would have withdrawn, the couple faced the tragedy that three of their young children had been killed by the constables. Their eldest son Benedict, second son Seok-hyeong, and third son Pius Seo Seok-su sensed the danger and fled, but the three remaining young children were at home when disaster struck (Bishops’ Conference biography).

John and Anna thought, “These little ones have all died in our place; how could we farm and live here, and what good would it do for us alone to go on living? It would be better to turn ourselves in to the government office and bear witness to our faith.” So they surrendered themselves to the Gimhae government office. The magistrate asked whether they were Catholics and tempted them, saying he would spare their lives if they apostatized, but the couple refused, and although the torturing officials inflicted various punishments, they bore witness to their faith, saying, “We cannot abandon our faith in God.” They were later martyred together with other faithful, and John was over 39 years old at the time. The Bishops’ Conference biography records the date of martyrdom as ‘1866?’ and the place of martyrdom as Gimhae, while the Masan Diocese guide records the manner of martyrdom as strangulation and the place of martyrdom as the Gimhae government office.

According to the notes in the Masan Diocese guide, Seo Eung-gwon’s year of martyrdom had previously been recorded as 1868 (Ma Baek-rak, The Church and Martyrs of Gyeongsang-do, Daegeon Publishing, 1989; Jinyeong Church of the Masan Diocese, 50-Year History of Jinyeong Parish, 1985). It explains, however, that this year is incorrect because it was based on government records unrelated to Seo Eung-gwon (the 1868 intercalary April 23 and June 4 entries in the Ilseongnok and the Seungjeongwon Ilgi), and that, judging from various circumstances, the time of his arrest and martyrdom is presumed to fall in the Byeongin Persecution period after 1866, consistent with the family tradition remembering him as a martyr of that period.

After their martyrdom, the government office buried the bodies of John and his wife carelessly, but 2 months later the family recovered the two bodies separately and buried them in different places. Later, their third son Pius Seo Seok-su moved both remains together to the present site (San 106, Sirye-ri, Jinrye-myeon, Gimhae-si), creating the double burial mound (Bishops’ Conference biography, Masan Diocese guide).

The Bishops’ Conference Episcopal Special Committee for Beatification and Canonization’s page on the biographies of 133 candidates links, as places related to Seo Eung-gwon, the entries ‘[Busan] On-site Investigation of Servants of God 2 (Gimhae and Samnangjin, Miryang)’ and ‘[Masan] On-site Investigation of the Tomb of Servant of God John Seo Eung-gwon (Gimhae).’

Significance for Faith and Visiting Context

John Seo Eung-gwon appears as No. 103 in the biographies of ‘Servant of God John Baptist Yi Byeok and 132 Companions’ by the Episcopal Special Committee for Beatification and Canonization of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea. The same committee’s list of 133 martyrs places him at No. 103, recording his year of martyrdom as 1866? and his place of martyrdom as Gimhae. The Daily Missal shrine guide of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea includes this tomb in its nationwide list of shrines and martyrdom sites and lists Jinrye Church as the contact. The Masan Diocese website presents this tomb in the ‘Shrines and Martyrs’ section of the diocesan homepage, together with the tombs of Blessed Marco Shin Seok-bok, Thaddeus Gu Han-seon, Anthony Jeong Chan-mun, Victorino Park Dae-sik, Joseph Yun Bong-mun, and Yu Seom-i, daughter of martyrs.

Related Places and People

• Anna Yun: Seo Eung-gwon’s wife, who surrendered herself with him to the Gimhae government office and was martyred, and is enshrined with him in the double burial mound.
• Pius Seo Seok-su: Seo Eung-gwon’s third son, who moved his parents’ remains together to the present site and created the double burial mound.
• Benedict Seo Seok-won: Seo Eung-gwon’s eldest son, who had a son in 1865.
• Norumok (Daehang, Jangbang-ri, Hallim-myeon): The village where Seo Eung-gwon’s family had lived for generations.
• Jinrye Church: A parish of the Masan Diocese listed as the contact for this tomb in the Daily Missal shrine guide of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea.

References and Sources

1. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Episcopal Special Committee for Beatification and Canonization, biography of John Seo Eung-gwon among the 133 candidates for beatification. Confirmed details on his family and livelihood, hiding during the persecution and the sacrifice of his children, surrender and martyrdom, and recovery of the bodies and creation of the double burial mound.
   https://cbck.or.kr/koreanmartyrs/133-Martyrs/103
2. Masan Diocese, Servant of God John Seo Eung-gwon. Confirmed the table of personal details and the notes on his birth year and year of martyrdom.
   https://cathms.kr/F_7
3. Daily Missal of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, nationwide guide to shrines, martyrdom sites, and pilgrimage sites. Confirmed the location of the tomb and the contact church (Jinrye Church).
   https://missa.cbck.or.kr/Shrines
4. Episcopal Special Committee for Beatification and Canonization of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, list of 133 martyrs under the Joseon Dynasty. Confirmed John Seo Eung-gwon’s number and place of martyrdom.
   http://www.cbck.or.kr/Catholic/Martyr/133-Martyrs