Myojae (Saint Nam Jong-sam · Martyr Nam Sang-kyu's Burial Site)

Overview

Myojae (the burial place of Saint John Nam Jongsam and Martyr Augustine Nam Sanggyo) is a martyrdom historic site of the Diocese of Wonju located in Haksan-ri, Bongyang-eup, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do. It is the place where Augustine Nam Sanggyo, the adoptive father of Saint John Nam Jongsam martyred in the Byeongin Persecution (1866), lived devoted to a life of faith after retiring from public office and was buried, and the Diocese of Wonju introduces it as a place imbued with the faith of father and son, Martyr Nam Sanggyo and Saint Nam Jongsam. Next to the burial place stands the Haksan Catholic mission chapel.

History

According to the shrine guide of the Diocese of Wonju, ‘Myojae’ is the name of a natural village in this area, and it is said that scholars and writers passing through called it ‘Myojae’ because there were 2 graves on the mountainside of Mount Josalmi. Myojae Shrine lies over one mountain from Baeron Shrine. Augustine Nam Sanggyo (南尙敎, 1784–1866) settled here near Baeron to devote himself to faith after serving as magistrate of Chungju, and lived here until he was transferred to the Gongju camp in the Byeongin Persecution in 1866 and martyred. His son John Nam Jongsam (南鐘三, 1817–1866) often visited this place and lived a life of faith here with his father before his martyrdom.

The life of Nam Sanggyo is also recorded in the Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture. According to this encyclopedia, his ancestral seat was Uiryeong and he was from Chungju; he passed the jinsa examination at age 55, served as magistrate of Hyeonpung and magistrate of Chungju, and in 1865 (Gojong 2) was appointed associate director of Donnyeongbu. In 1827 (Sunjo 27) he was baptized in Beijing and entered the Church, his baptismal name was Augustine, and he adopted Nam Jongsam, the son of his younger brother Nam Tangyo, led him into the Church, and became a spiritual support for Catholics. While serving as magistrate of Hyeonpung (from December 1837 to December 1840), a stele honoring his virtuous rule was erected in gratitude for helping people suffering in a famine; this stele was at the Hyeonpung office and was moved to Jeoldusan Shrine on May 27, 1974. The same encyclopedia describes him as a Nongsan scholar who pursued Silhak with Jeong Yak-yong and as a man of letters skilled in Chinese poetry. The Diocese of Wonju also introduces him as an agricultural scholar who continued the scholarly tradition of Jeong Yak-yong and served as magistrate of Chungju and associate director of Donnyeongbu.

According to the Diocese of Wonju, the biological father of Saint John Nam Jongsam was Nam Tangyo, but he became the adopted son of his childless uncle Nam Sanggyo, and his father’s influence was great on his learning, formation of thought, and entrance into the Church. It is not certain when Nam Jongsam entered the Church, but the earliest Church activity appearing in records is teaching the Korean language to Father Ridel, who entered the country in 1861, and it is said that even before that he exchanged with Bishops Berneux and Daveluy and others and took part in Church affairs. The Diocese of Wonju explains that father and son settled in Myojae because association with those close to them made it difficult to keep the commandments and live a life of faith.

Nam Jongsam was martyred during the Byeongin Persecution, and the Good News shrine guide writes that he was arrested on his way to Hanyang resolved to die a martyr and was martyred on March 7 at the crossroads outside Seosomun. The Diocese of Wonju guide also says he was martyred at the crossroads outside Seosomun, whereas the Nam Sanggyo entry in the Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture writes that Nam Jongsam died at Saenamteo, so the records of the martyrdom place differ. After the martyrdom of Nam Jongsam, his whole family was arrested: his father Nam Sanggyo at the Gongju camp (the Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture records that he died at age 83 in the prison of the Gongju camp), his eldest son Nam Myeonghui was martyred at the Jeonju camp, his wife Philomena Yi Joyi was martyred in her place of exile in Changnyeong, and his youngest son Nam Gyuhui and two daughters Teresa and Magdalene lived as slaves in places of exile in Gyeongsang-do. Thus, over 3 generations, 4 persons were martyred. John Nam Jongsam was raised to sainthood by Pope Saint John Paul 2 on May 6, 1984 at Yeouido Plaza in Seoul.

A Catholic village formed around the burial place of Myojae from the 1920s. In 1938, a wooden mission chapel building was newly built on the left in front of the saint’s burial place, and it was rebuilt again in September 1955, but as the building became old and dangerous, it was moved to the place currently in use and newly built as the Haksan Catholic mission chapel in 1989, the Diocese of Wonju explains. With the help of the martyr’s descendants and benefactors, the burial place was repaired in 1987, 14 Stations of the Cross in mosaic style were created on the hill behind, and on May 6, 1999 a statue of the Virgin Mary was erected behind the burial place and a blessing ceremony was held. On October 7, 2013, a single-story education center was newly built right next to the mission chapel and a blessing ceremony was held, and according to the Good News guide, in 2014 the burial place was dismantled and full repair work was carried out.

Architecture and Space

The shrine includes the burial place of Nam Sanggyo and the Haksan Catholic mission chapel, the 14 Stations of the Cross on the hill behind the burial place, the statue of the Virgin Mary behind the burial place, and the education center next to the mission chapel. The Good News guide introduces that the burial place is next to the Haksan Catholic mission chapel and that the old mission chapel building stood in front of the burial place.

Related Places and People

• Baeron Shrine: a shrine of the Diocese of Wonju lying over one mountain from Myojae.
• Haksan Catholic mission chapel: the mission chapel next to the burial place; the present building was newly built in 1989.
• Saint John Nam Jongsam (1817–1866): martyred in the Byeongin Persecution and raised to sainthood in 1984.
• Martyr Augustine Nam Sanggyo (1784–1866): adoptive father of Nam Jongsam, martyred at the Gongju camp.
• Nam Myeonghui and Philomena Yi Joyi: the eldest son and wife of Nam Jongsam, martyred respectively at the Jeonju camp and in the place of exile in Changnyeong.

References and Sources

1. Diocese of Wonju, Shrines and Historic Sites: Myojae Shrine. Checked the origin of the place name, the settlement and martyrdom of father and son Nam Sanggyo and Nam Jongsam, and the history of the mission chapel and facilities.
   http://www.wjcatholic.or.kr/shrine/view?ca=%EB%AC%98%EC%9E%AC%EC%84%B1%EC%A7%80
2. Good News of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Shrines and Historic Sites: Myojae (Burial Place of Saint John Nam Jongsam and Martyr Augustine Nam Sanggyo). Checked the martyrdom of Nam Jongsam and his family, the history of the mission chapel, and the repair of the burial place in 2014.
   https://app.catholic.or.kr/web/holyplace/?seq=2274
3. Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture, Nam Sanggyo. Checked the career of Nam Sanggyo, his entrance into the Church, his death in the Byeongin Persecution, and the stele honoring his virtuous rule.
   https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0077578