Naju Martyrdom Site

This is a Catholic holy site honoring the faith of four martyrs: Lee Chun-hwa (Peter), who was martyred in Naju during the Gihae Persecution (1839); and Kang Yeong-won (Paul), Yu Chi-seong (Andrew), and Yu Mun-bo (Paul), who were arrested in 1871 and martyred the following year at Muhakdang in Naju. The Martyrs' Memorial Chapel, built in 2004, is shaped like an empty tomb symbolizing the Resurrection of Jesus. At its entrance are a 60-ton megalith and a coffin-shaped altar, and the interior of the chapel, enclosed on all sides, is open only to the sky with no ceiling. The old rectory, built in 1934 as Naju's first Western-style brick building, has been made into a memorial hall for Archbishop Harold Henry (1909–1976), the first pastor of Naju Parish, displaying his typewriter, prayer book, cross, ciborium, vestments, photographs, and more. The hanok tiled-roof house that was the first Korean motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity, who led the way in evangelization through charitable activities such as education and medical care, has also been restored, allowing visitors to see the belongings of the nuns from that time. Of the foundation stones that remained for about 130 years at the site of Muhakdang (now Naju Elementary School), the martyrdom site, 10 were moved here in 2001 to erect a sculpture symbolizing Muhakdang, and a martyrs' cemetery and Stations of the Cross have also been created.

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Admission fee

Free