Baeron Fortress Site, Jecheon

This is a Catholic sanctuary that has drawn many believers from the Catholic persecution of 1801 — the first year of King Sunjo of Joseon — down to the present day. The name "Baeron" comes from the shape of the local terrain, said to resemble the bottom of a boat. Its remains include the underground shelter where the late-Joseon Catholic Hwang Sa-yeong stayed while writing his "Silk Letter" (Baekseo), St Joseph's Seminary, and the tomb of Father Choe Yang-eop. When the persecution broke out in 1801, Hwang Sa-yeong wrote, in this shelter, a letter addressed to the bishop in Beijing seeking the rebuilding of the Church and freedom of religious belief, but he was unable to achieve his aim. St Joseph's Seminary, the first seminary established in Korea, was a place for training priests. Father Choe Yang-eop, who became the second Korean ever to be ordained a priest, made a great contribution to the spread of Catholicism in Korea, including through his translation of Catholic doctrine. Baeron Fortress Site is an important sanctuary in the history of the establishment of Catholicism in Korea.

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Where it is

Region

Jecheon, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물