▲ A statue of priest Daegun Kim, the first Korean priest

Solmoe Holy Ground, Dangjin and Haemieupseong, Seosan, where the opening and closing masses for the 6th Asian Youth Day are held, are at the center of attention sincethese places have been announced to be visited by Pope Francis. The two places, which are martyrs' sites, are both located in Chungnam, and it is projected that lots of pilgrims will come, including believers around the time of the Pope's visit. This paper will now discussthe major holy grounds in Chungnam province, where the Pope will visit.
 

'Naepo,' Chungnam, Hometown of 49 Martyrs Out of 124 Who are to be Beautified
Naepo signifies an area where the sea or lake is bent into the land. From the old times,Dangjin, Seosan, Yesan, Boryeong, Hongseong and some others in Chungcheongnam-do were called a Naepo. Due to this topographical characteristic, traffic is welldeveloped, connecting the coast and the interior in the Naepo area, and a new culture has been briskly flowing in along the waterway. The Catholic Church was also brought in along this way in the late Joseon Dynasty.

So,the Naepo areas came to play a part of the cradle for Catholic propagation. However, at the time of the persecution of the Catholics, believers in this area were particularly afflicted. As if to prove this fact, 49 out of 124 martyrs who are to be beautified on August 16 were from Naepo, the western region of Chungnam. For this reason, there are a number of martyrs' sites including the Solmoe Holy Ground and Haemi Martyrs' Site, where believers gave their lives for their faith.
 

The Solmoe Holy Ground, the Greatest Catholic Holy Land in Korea
Named Solmoe because pine trees form a grave, it is a place where Priest Daegun Kim, the first Korean priest, (1821-1846) was born. After Jinhoo Kim, Daegun Kim's great grandfather, died in prison in Haemi while being persecuted for his Catholic faith. Lineal and collateral descendants across four generations who became martyrs afterward were born and lived here, so this place is considered to be the matrix of the Korean clergy.

Priest Daegun Kim has received reverence from the Catholic world since 1984 when Pope Johannes Paulus II canonized him while he was visiting Korea for the occasion of the bicentenary of the Korean Catholic Church.

In the Solmoe Holy Ground, which had been started to be created with a martyrdom monument in commemoration of the centenary of Priest Daegun Kim's martyrdom in 1946, there are a statue of priest Daegun Kim, the restored birthplace, the Saint Andrea Daegun Kim Memorial Church, the Memorial Hall, and the Solmoe Arena (an amphitheater and outdoor Catholic Church). 

Address :  132 Solmoe-ro, Ugang-myeon, Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do
Tel : +82-41-362-5021
Website : http://www.solmoe.or.kr
 

Sinri Holy Ground Where the Largest Devotees' Village was Formed
The Sinri Holy Ground was created in celebration of the largest and most important devotees' village of the 19th century's oppression of Catholicism.

The Sinri Catholic community, which once had four hundred people, was nearly reduced to ashes after the Byeongin Persecution of 1866. There are the birthplace of Thomas Jaseon Son, who was raised to the status of saint, a statue of Bishop Marie Nicolas Antoine Daveluy, and a memorial Catholic church.Specifically, Jaseon Son's birthplace was used as the bishop's palace of Bishop Daveloy, who served as the Fifth Diocesan Bishop of Joseon and, at the same time, the JoseonDiocesan Curia.

Bishop A. Daveluy (1818-1866) wrote the early Korean catechism, and his writings which recorded the reality of Joseon Catholicism were sent to a church in Paris, France to be published by the name of ※Notes of Daveluy§.

This publication became the foundation of Korean Catholic history later and was used as decisive evidentiary material for the appointment of 103 Korean saints and 124 Korean who were blessed. Saint Antonio Daveluy Memorial Hall was completed in time for the thirtieth anniversary of Bishop Daveluy's canonization last May, and a martyr's history park was constructed in the vicinity of the Memorial Hall. 

Address : 63-3 Sinri, Hapdeok-eup, Dangjin, Chungcheongnam-do
Tel : +82-41-363-1959
Website : http://www.sinri.or.kr
 

Hongju Martyrs' Site, Worshippers' Model Holy Land
The Hongju Holy Land, now in the Hongseong region, bore 212 martyrs on record. When combining the unknown martyrs, the number comes to 700, which is the second biggest number next to that of Gongju and proves how powerful the Catholicism was in Korea.
 
Hongju is a sacred place where an evidentiary site, martyrdom site, and burial site exist. The magistrate's office of Hongju minister is preserved behind the Hongseong County Office, and behind it is the sign ※religious evidentiary site§. Devotees who were taken to Hongju prison during the oppression of Catholicism testified that the faith by enduring all sorts of interrogationand punishment and then went to the martyrs' way.
 
The decapitation martyrs' site is at WolgyeRiverside next to BungmunBridge of Hongseong-eup. It is a martyrs' site where lots of devotees bled after Simon Ilgwang Hwang, arrested during the Sinyu Persecution of 1801, had been decapitated here.

Address :  7 208-roadJoyang-ro, Hongseong-eup, Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do
Tel : +82-41-633-8891
Website : http://www.hssd.co.kr
 

Haemi Martyrs' Site &Haemieupseong Fortress
Pope Francis visits Haemi martyrs' site to pay respects to the martyrs' grave on August 17, and then he travels to Haemieupseong and delivers a closing mass for the Asian Youth Day. The Haemi camp had independent authority to execute prisoners, so thousands of believers were executed beginning in the 1790s. Most of the people who died there were unknown commoners.
 
The traces of persecution can be found everywhere in the Holy Ground. A representative place is one that is called Jindumbeong (puddle). Jindumbeong is named such because believers with both arms tied were pushed into a dumbeong (Chungcheong province dialect for a puddle) in a fieldat random and buried alive, because the execution ground in Haemieupseong was overflown.
 
Haemieupseong, best preserved among the existing Eupseong fortresses, is a place where thousands of believers were questioned and executed. The Haemieupseong prison was full of Catholic believers who were dragged from all over the Naepo region during the persecution period, and a hoyatree on which the thehands and feet of the martyrs were tied and their heads were bound.  These people were tortured and hung, and there are still remains in the prison site to prove the tragic reality.

Corpses of the martyrs buried alive were found in 1935, and the bones, teeth, and hair excavated from the site were used to build a memorial hall. The Haemi martyr tower, with the height of 16 meters, and an outdoor mass ground were built in the vicinity of the archeological site of the remains in 1975, and a Catholic church was built fromcontributions collected in 2003.

Address : 13 Seongji1-ro, Haemi-myeon, Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do 
Tel : +82-41-688-3183
Website : http://www.haemi.or.kr
 

Let us recommend you the attractions of Dangjin and Seosan, which will be good to visit together in addition to the Solmoe Holy Ground and the Haemieupseong Fortress.

Seosan
Aramae road : Seosan has Aramae road, the name of which was created in combination of ara, a native tongue for the sea, and mae,thepure Korean word for a mountain. As you can presume from the name, it is a representative tracking course where you can enjoy the natural beauty while walking along the shore, the mountains, and a seaside village.

Ganworam Hermitage : a small hermitage located in Ganwoldo-ri, Buseok-myeon, Seosan. Unlike other hermitages, it is a mysterious hermitage that connects to the land during the ebb tide, and becomes an island like a hermitage floating on the water during the high tide. Tourists keep coming here as theplace is situated near a temple in which people can feel the breath of ancestors together with the surrounding natural landscape. 

Dangjin
Waemok Village : a place loved for its magnificent sunrise scenery of the western sea, and located in WaemokRoad, Seokmun-myeon, Dangjin. The village Waemok, Is named such, becauset he village extends thinlyina long distance towards the sea, like a heron's neck. You can enjoy the splendid sight of sunrise that nature created when you look to the east from the seashore of the village at sunset.

Janggohang Harbor : JJanggohang, ten minutes from Waemok village by car, presents a landscape of a pleasant fishing village of Dangjin. Specifically, the scenery of the sun that sets in harmony with a rugged precipice and pine trees is beautiful.