Jeon Okseo Site Shrine

Overview

The Jeonokseo Site is a Catholic historical site in the Jonggak Station area of Jongno-gu, Seoul, where the Jeonokseo, the Joseon-era prison office, once stood. It is the place where believers arrested during the persecutions were held after interrogation by the Hyeongjo until their sentences were carried out, and it is included in Course 2 of the Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route, the ‘Way of Life.’

History

According to an article from the Seoul City Inside Seoul, the Jeonokseo was an office under the Hyeongjo that managed prisons and prisoners. Located in Seorin-bang, it was also called Seorin-ok, and when the new administrative system was established in 1392 (the 1 year of King Taejo), it was installed following the system of Goryeo, and then in 1894 (the 31 year of King Gojong) it was renamed the Gamokseo during the Gabo Reform and placed under the Gyeongmucheong.

The Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route website explains that the Jeonokseo was the place where criminals transferred to the Hyeongjo for interrogation were confined until sentences such as execution or exile were carried out. According to the same website, Catholics were classified as ideological criminals and were detained here for as little as one month and as long as 4 years, and while the inmates were mainly ordinary farmers and commoners, at times there were also leading believers under the jurisdiction of the Uigeumbu or the Hyeongjo.

The Seoul City article reports that the Jeonokseo is the place where many Catholics, including Peter Yi Ho-yeong and Barbara Kim, confessed their faith and were martyred, and that Ignatius Kim Je-jun, the father of Father Andrew Kim Dae-geon, was transferred from the Uigeumbu to the Hyeongjo and was held here until his execution. The guide to the Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route by the Seoul Archdiocesan Committee for the Beatification of Martyrs explains that among the 103 saints, two saints, Peter Yi Ho-yeong and Barbara Kim, were martyred at the Jeonokseo.

Architecture and Space

No old buildings remain. The Seoul City article notes that a marker stone for the Jeonokseo Site is installed in the flower bed on the right in front of Exit 6 of Jonggak Station.

Faith Significance and Visiting Context

According to the guide of the Committee for the Beatification of Martyrs, the sites of old government offices including the Jeonokseo, the Left and Right Podocheong, the Uigeumbu and the Hyeongjo are overseen by Jongno parish, and Jongno parish was approved in February 2013 by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop of Seoul, as the ‘Podocheong Pilgrimage church.’ Course 2 of the Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route, the ‘Way of Life,’ is presented as having a total distance of 5.9km and taking 2 hours 30 minutes on foot, and the Jeonokseo Site is introduced as the fifth pilgrimage site on this route.

Related Places and People

• Seosomun Outside the Gate Martyrs’ Shrine: a martyrs’ shrine included in the same Way of Life, Course 2.
• Jongno Church (Podocheong Pilgrimage church): the parish that oversees the Jeonokseo Site and other old government office sites.
• Saint Yi Ho-yeong (Peter) and Saint Kim Barbara: the saints martyred at the Jeonokseo.
• Kim Je-jun (Ignatius): the father of Father Kim Dae-geon who was held at the Jeonokseo until his execution.

References and Sources

1. Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route (seoulpilgrim.com), ‘Course 2: Way of Life’. The function of the Jeonokseo Site, the period of detention and the class of inmates, and the distance and time required for Course 2 were verified.
   https://seoulpilgrim.com/course/2/
2. Seoul City Inside Seoul, ‘Seokjeong B purely? Seokjeong Boreum Well, Gahoe-dong Church… In Search of Catholic Historical Sites’ (Shin Byeong-ju, 2023). The establishment and renaming of the Jeonokseo, its alias Seorin-ok, the martyrs and the detention of Kim Je-jun, and the location of the marker stone were verified.
   https://mediahub.seoul.go.kr/archives/2007291
3. Seoul Archdiocesan Committee for the Beatification of Martyrs, ‘Seoul Catholic Pilgrimage Route Way of the Word (Course 1)’ Jongno Shrine Church entry. The fact that 2 saints were martyred at the Jeonokseo and the approval of Jongno Church as the ‘Podocheong Pilgrimage church’ in 2013 were verified.
   https://martyrs.or.kr/_web/mpilgrims/aboutcourse.html?cidx=6