Top Stories 26/03/19 Korean Catholics to build tunnel reflecting life, death of martyrs

[성기화 요셉]

Martyrs Hill will be built alongside the Namyang Shrine, which stands at the location of a Christian martyrdom site

Bishop Kwak Jin-sang (eighth, right) attends the groundbreaking ceremony of Martyr’s Hill held at the Namyang Shrine in Suwon Diocese on March 19. (Photo: Catholic Times of Korea)

By UCA News reporter

Published: March 27, 2026 11:53 AM GMT

Updated: March 27, 2026 12:21 PM GMT

A Marian shrine in South Korea — located on the site where Catholics were martyred in the 19th-century — has launched a 200-meter-long tunnel project to aid believers in better recalling the heroic virtues of early Christians.

Auxiliary Bishop Germanus Kwak Jin-sang of Suwon presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the tunnel project titled Martyr’s Hill on March 19 at the Namyang Shrine.

Father Francis Xavier Lee Sang-gak, head of Namyang Shrine, stated that the tunnel is intended to be a “space to remember and honor the martyrs” at the location “where the sound of their rosary prayers still echoes.”

“I hope this will serve as an opportunity for our individual faith to be enriched, not by encountering martyrdom through tombs or sculptures, but by experiencing it through this space,” Lee emphasized.

Members of the clergy, religious, and faithful attended the groundbreaking and blessing ceremony.

The Martyrs Hill will be built alongside the shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary, located on the site where Catholics were executed during the Byeongin Persecution between 1866 and 1886.

About 9,000 Catholics, half of the total Catholic population of Korea at the time, were brutally murdered for their faith.

Namyang gained prominence as a site of martyrdom as the provincial governor, who held judicial authority during the Joseon Dynasty, was stationed there.

Christians from Namyang and neighboring areas were brought to the location and martyred for their beliefs.

According to documents such as the Diary of the Martyrs and the Testimonies of the Byeongin Martyrs, the couple Philip Kim and Mary Park, along with Philip Jeong and Thomas Kim Hong-seo, among others, were martyred in Namyang, the Catholic Times of Korea reported.

Namyang is also the birthplace of Francis Xavier Choi Bang-je, one of Korea’s first seminarians.

The shrine’s construction started in 1983, and in October 1991, it was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and declared the first Marian shrine of the Korean Church.

Located near the path for praying the rosary, the Martyr’s Hill is designed as a space where visitors can walk through a 200-meter-long tunnel “to reflect on their own martyrdom and death.”

The tunnel will be divided into various parts, including a Path of Penance within the tunnel, where there will be three prayer stations and resting areas.

At the end of the section titled Path of Obedience, a cemetery will be built, and a chapel will be constructed at the stretch named Path of Peace.

Architect Seung Hyo-sang, who has been involved in the project since 2021, expressed hope that the project would help visitors to commemorate the nameless martyrs of the past.

“I hope it will also become a place where we commemorate ourselves — as we inscribe our names here and resolve to be martyred and reborn,” Seung said.

This is a translated and edited version of the report that first appeared on the Catholic Times of Korea on March 24, 2026, and has been republished with permission.