Dan-nae Shrine

History & origins

Catholic life in the Dannae area long predates the formal establishment of the shrine. The Catholic Times describes Dannae as an old Catholic village whose community continued for roughly two centuries and as an area where Korea’s first priest, Father Andrew Kim Taegon, carried out pastoral ministry. Memories of believers who preserved their faith during persecution also remain in traditions associated with hiding places around Waryongsan Mountain.

The area is connected with several martyrs. It is remembered as the home and burial place of Paul Jeong Eun and Peter Jeong Yak-muk, who were martyred during the Byeongin Persecution, and it also commemorates Saint John Yi Mun-u and family-linked martyrs including Peter Yi Ho-yeong, Agatha Yi, Sebastian Nam I-gwan, and Barbara Jo Jeung-i. These memories made Dannae a place where martyr faith and the love of family could be contemplated together.

In 1987 Dannae was consecrated as a “Holy Family Shrine” to honor the spirit of these martyrs and to pray for the sanctification of families. From that point, its identity developed beyond the preservation of martyr memories into a pilgrimage place where families could walk, pray, and renew their faith together.

A pilgrimage route of about 5.2 kilometers was later created along Waryongsan Mountain, linking places associated with Father Andrew Kim Taegon’s pastoral journeys and hiding places used by persecuted Catholics. The route carries the layered history of Dannae—its old Catholic village, its veneration of martyrs, and its prayer for holy family life—into the experience of present-day pilgrims.