About this place
The former Jeonokseo site, near 41 Cheonggyecheon-ro in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is recognized by the Seoul Archdiocese as a Catholic historical site. Jeonokseo was a prison administration office under the Ministry of Justice during the Joseon period, and during the Catholic persecutions it became a place where believers who had undergone interrogation were confined and bore witness to their faith.
There is no church building on the site today; its character is that of an urban pilgrimage stop where visitors pray at a historical place. It forms part of the Seoul Archdiocese’s “Way of Life” pilgrimage route, linking it with sites such as Uigeumbu, the police bureaus, the Ministry of Justice, and the Seosomun execution ground.
History & origins
Jeonokseo was an office under the Joseon Ministry of Justice responsible for prisons and prisoners. During the Catholic persecutions, believers arrested and interrogated by bodies such as the police bureaus could be confined here after examination by the Ministry of Justice, continuing to face pressure to renounce their faith while awaiting judgment or punishment.
One of the best documented prisoners was Saint Peter Yi Ho-yeong. Arrested in 1835, he endured interrogation and punishment at the police bureau and Ministry of Justice before being imprisoned at Jeonokseo. After years of confinement, he died in the prison in 1838. Church sources also remember Saint Barbara Kim as a martyr who died amid the severe conditions of imprisonment there.
The site is preserved in the Seoul Archdiocese’s urban pilgrimage route as a place of prison witness. Its historical meaning is therefore distinct from execution grounds such as Seosomun or Jeoldusan: Jeonokseo recalls the faith that was maintained, and in some cases life that was lost, within the prison itself.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Jeon Okseo Site Shrine: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
Pilgrimages passing here
Would you like to record this place in your pilgrimage passport?
Sign in to keep this record with you.
Building information
- Passenger elevators: 0
- 23 above-ground floors · 5 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 1992
- Total floor area: 73,677㎡
Building-register record · · Source
Accessibility information
Accessibility information is not available yet. Please check with the location before visiting.
Sources and updates
- Information Status
- Official
- Source
- Official source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
- Last updated
- Source
- 한국천주교주교회의 온라인 주소록
Diocese
Official website: https://aos.catholic.or.kr
Help verify information
Did the Mass schedule or church information change?
Let us know if you confirmed the displayed information or noticed something different.
Information Status: Official source
Visited here? Share details about toilets, parking or ramps.
Sign in to leave a visitor check.
Sign in to confirm the schedule or report a change.
Reports are saved for review. Mass times are changed after evidence such as official sources is checked, not automatically based on visitor confirmations.