한국 순교자 103위 시성 터

History & origins

The 103 Korean Martyrs consist of the 79 martyrs of the persecutions of 1839 and 1846 who were beatified in 1925, together with 24 martyrs of the 1866 persecution beatified in 1968. After 1968, the Korean Church pursued their canonization in earnest. In 1976 the Korean bishops submitted a formal petition to the Holy See. Pope John Paul II granted a dispensation from the miracle requirement in June 1983 and formally approved and proclaimed the canonization of the 103 on September 27 of that year.

For the bicentennial of the Korean Catholic Church, the bishops asked the Pope to visit Korea and celebrate the canonization there, a request that was accepted. On May 6, 1984, Pope John Paul II canonized the 103 martyrs at Yeouido Square. The Bishops’ Conference timeline records it as the first canonization celebrated outside St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome since the Avignon papacy.

The present memorial in Yeouido Park preserves the memory of that great liturgy. It recalls both the long path from martyrdom to sainthood and a major moment when the Korean Church met the universal Church on Korean soil.