Seosomun Park's history

By Choe Chong-dae

The recent announcement by Jung-gu District authorities in Seoul to allocate 46 billion won to transform the Catholic shrine at Seosomun Park can in some ways be regarded as a positive development. The site was dedicated to Korea’s first Catholic martyrs and it is here that their canonization by Pope John Paul II in 1985 will be memorialized and celebrated.

Seosomun Park (located near The Korea Times office) in Seoul commemorates a tragic period in the history of Korea as it was an official execution ground for the nation’s most nefarious criminals, and additionally, a place where martyrs paid the ultimate sacrifice for their Catholic faith.

In addition to being a sacred site for Catholic martyrdom, Seosomun Park holds a special place in my heart because at this place at the dawn of the modern history of Korea, a great number of reformists and pioneering patriots as well as adherents of the Donghak movement sacrificed their lives for the sake of justice and righteousness.

During the late Joseon Dynasty when Confucianism was still deeply rooted as the official state ideology, the monarchy perceived its authority to be under threat not only from the Catholic faith but also from Donghak (Eastern Learning), which promulgated a new egalitarian ideology. Consequently, followers of both the Catholic religion and the Donghaks were sought out, persecuted and martyred in the Seosomun area. Catholics were martyred for their faith at the execution ground near Seosomun Park during the "Shinyu Persecution" in 1801 and "Byeongin Persecution" in 1866.

Prior to these persecutions, Heo Gyun, a prominent Korean politician, novelist, scholar and reformist who vociferously promoted social reform was executed there in 1618. Hong Gyung-rae, a well-known leader of a rebellion against an excessive, draconian tax on people living in the famine-stricken region of Pyongan Province, was executed at Seosomun in 1811, together with many of his followers.

In addition, it was at this site in 1898 that Choe Shi-hyeung, the second great leader of Donghak was sacrificed as a martyr for propagating heresy.

Donghak, established in 1860, and later renamed “Chondo-gyo” (Religion of the Heavenly Way), was Korea's first and most influential indigenous belief. Donghak believers played a pivotal role in the Donghak Peasant Revolution in 1894-95. The Revolution was the earliest example of a nation-wide social reform movement founded on the promotion of justice and equality for all, and calling for the salvation and freedom of the oppressed and exploited lower class.

Following the Donghak Peasant Revolution its main leader Chun Bong-joon and his supporters Shon Hwa-jung, Kim Rae-hyun and Kim Gae-nam were transported to Seoul and executed at Seosomun.

In view of this history, we can ascertain that in addition to the Catholic martyrs, many other prominent figures were executed at Seosomun. Consequently, Seosomun Park is not only a sanctuary for Catholic martyrs, but is also a sacred site for the martyrs of Cheondo-gyo/Donghak, and for other historic Korean luminaries and socio-political leaders as well.

It is thus strongly recommended that the Catholic Church’s claim to exclusive rights to Seosomun Park be reappraised and corrected. After all, the renovation project at Seosomun Park with its huge budget allocated by local and central governments is, in effect, derived directly from money collected from tax payers.

In conclusion, I strongly urge the government to reconsider the nature and purpose of the restoration project at Seosomun Park. Rather than turning it into a memorial park which solely honors Catholic martyrs, it should be made into a sacred sanctuary dedicated to Cheondo-gyo martyrs and other prominent yet neglected figures in Korean history who in life fought and gave their lives for the rights of the masses of Korean people and in death share a final resting place in Seosomun Park.

Choe Chong-dae is a guest columnist of The Korea Times. He is president of Dae-kwang International Co., and director of the Korean-Swedish Association. He can be reached at dkic98@chol.com.