Yanggeun Shrine

History & origins

Yanggeun was one of the early centers where Catholic faith spread before the Korean Church had a stable system of ordained ministry. Diocesan sources explain that after Peter Yi Seung-hun returned from Beijing after his baptism in 1784, baptism and faith instruction spread among figures such as Ambrose Kwon Cheol-sin, Louis Gonzaga Yi Jon-chang, and Augustine Yu Hang-geom. The activity of the brothers Kwon Cheol-sin and Kwon Il-sin made Yanggeun an important setting in the history of the early Korean Catholic community.

As persecution intensified, a number of Catholics associated with the region died for their faith. The names remembered at the shrine include James Yun Yu-o, Agatha Yun Jeom-hye, Sebastian Kwon Sang-mun, and the married couple Peter Jo Suk and Teresa Kwon Cheon-rye. The area near present-day Yanggeun Bridge is identified in diocesan material with the historical execution ground, showing that Yanggeun was not only a center of evangelization but also a place marked by martyrdom.

Modern development of the shrine sought to preserve this memory and provide a setting for pilgrimage. According to the Diocese of Suwon, development accelerated from 2003, and a new church and related facilities were blessed in 2011. A martyr square, Stations of the Cross, statues of saints and blesseds, and prayer spaces were arranged so that pilgrims could follow the history while praying and reflecting.

The beatification of Korean martyrs in 2014 became another occasion to remember people of faith associated with Yanggeun. The history of the shrine therefore joins three stages: the formation of an early lay-led Catholic community, persecution and martyrdom, and the modern creation of a pilgrimage site. The present shrine connects that long history with prayer and reflection today.