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| A Woman's Directory For Travel and Life. WAVE Journey is your one stop online resource for women oriented businesses and services around the world. WAVE Journey is for every woman to enjoy. If you love to travel, cook, read or revel in outdoor activities this website is for you. If you are looking to connect with other like-minded women or if you are interested in finding businesses or services that cater to women, WAVE Journey is your number one online resource. South Korea: Mirinae: the Spirit of Martyrdom ~ Article by Tamara |
| WAVE Journey |
| Women's Adventures, Vacations & Experiences ~ Your Journey Starts Here! |
BIO: Tamara is an elementary school teacher in Seoul with a BA in Anthropology from
Pomona College in Claremont, California. She studied in Nepal as part of the
Anthropology degree. In addition, she has an Ed.M. degree from the Harvard Graduate
School of Education, and there she worked on a learning intervention involving Chinese
characters in Korean: “Hanja via Cartoons.” She lived in Korea for nearly 4 years total,
the first year with a Korean family. Her writing appeared in the Korea Herald and was
selected in the Seoul Metro Writing Contest.
Pomona College in Claremont, California. She studied in Nepal as part of the
Anthropology degree. In addition, she has an Ed.M. degree from the Harvard Graduate
School of Education, and there she worked on a learning intervention involving Chinese
characters in Korean: “Hanja via Cartoons.” She lived in Korea for nearly 4 years total,
the first year with a Korean family. Her writing appeared in the Korea Herald and was
selected in the Seoul Metro Writing Contest.
A place of hiding during persecution in the 19th century, a place of martyrs’ remembrance, a
destination for spiritual reflection. Mirinae, and the nearby Euni Shrine are Catholic locations
worth visiting near Ansung, an hour south of Seoul. In addition to holding the tomb of Kim Dae-
geon, the first Catholic priest in Korea, who was later martyred, Mirinae has a sizable cathedral,
a chapel to Mary, pilgrimage facilities, “Garden of Gethsemane” and beautifully sculpted outdoor
Stations of the Cross and “15 Mysteries of the Rosary.” This is all in a quiet, poetic natural
setting, and indeed the name “Mirinae” means “Milky Way.”
destination for spiritual reflection. Mirinae, and the nearby Euni Shrine are Catholic locations
worth visiting near Ansung, an hour south of Seoul. In addition to holding the tomb of Kim Dae-
geon, the first Catholic priest in Korea, who was later martyred, Mirinae has a sizable cathedral,
a chapel to Mary, pilgrimage facilities, “Garden of Gethsemane” and beautifully sculpted outdoor
Stations of the Cross and “15 Mysteries of the Rosary.” This is all in a quiet, poetic natural
setting, and indeed the name “Mirinae” means “Milky Way.”
Mirinae, and the nearby Euni Shrine, are the destinations of a journey I take with some Catholic
nuns and community members. They are from the Order of Jeanne Jugan’s house in Suwon ,
about an hour south of Seoul in South Korea. In the group of travelers of four nuns, a young
couple, another young man and myself, pile into a van and make the hour’s drive to Ansung, to
the Euni Shrine. There is Sister Mary Johanna, a bubbly, energetic young nun, and Sister
Gabriella, somewhat more sedate. Sister Miriam has a thoughtful demeanor and Sister Marisca
becomes somewhat tired after our long walk of 10km begins later, through the forest to the
second Catholic martyr’s shrine, Mirinae. A young couple, Hae-jung and Matteo are along too.
Hae-jung is short, energetic woman with a pony-tail who just ran a half marathon the day
before; she and her boyfriend, the tall Matteo, would drive the van around to the end of the
walk, where they would pick up the hiking party at the end of its journey. Driving down the
highway in Korea nowadays the reflective green highway sign, despite the fact that it is in
Korean and English makes me think of California.
nuns and community members. They are from the Order of Jeanne Jugan’s house in Suwon ,
about an hour south of Seoul in South Korea. In the group of travelers of four nuns, a young
couple, another young man and myself, pile into a van and make the hour’s drive to Ansung, to
the Euni Shrine. There is Sister Mary Johanna, a bubbly, energetic young nun, and Sister
Gabriella, somewhat more sedate. Sister Miriam has a thoughtful demeanor and Sister Marisca
becomes somewhat tired after our long walk of 10km begins later, through the forest to the
second Catholic martyr’s shrine, Mirinae. A young couple, Hae-jung and Matteo are along too.
Hae-jung is short, energetic woman with a pony-tail who just ran a half marathon the day
before; she and her boyfriend, the tall Matteo, would drive the van around to the end of the
walk, where they would pick up the hiking party at the end of its journey. Driving down the
highway in Korea nowadays the reflective green highway sign, despite the fact that it is in
Korean and English makes me think of California.
The van pulls off the highway and the landscape outside is that of rural, farm-country Korea. It
is after the first harvest but the trees’ leaves have not yet begun to turn red, orange and
brown as they will later in fall. It stops in a gravel parking lot where a few other cars are
parked, forested slopes beyond, in a narrow valley. This is the location of the Euni Shrine, the
location that commemorates Kim Dae-geon and the early days of the Catholic Church.
is after the first harvest but the trees’ leaves have not yet begun to turn red, orange and
brown as they will later in fall. It stops in a gravel parking lot where a few other cars are
parked, forested slopes beyond, in a narrow valley. This is the location of the Euni Shrine, the
location that commemorates Kim Dae-geon and the early days of the Catholic Church.
A low, non-descript building with metal siding is our stopping point before the hike. It looks
temporary, as if more permanent facilities would soon be built. I got the impression that this
was intended to make visitors get a feeling of the early days of the church, before it became
more established later. Inside everyone sits in a circle on a vinyl-covered floor and eats kimbap,
the Korean-style seaweed wrapped rice role, and kimchi, the spicy pickled cabbage that
everyone eats in Korea. Eating in this place of hiding of early Christians in Korea, a place that
commemorates martyrs, makes me think about how I usually grab a muffin or bagel or
sandwich. I become conscious of how in past times fast-food chains, convenience stores and
vending machines were not even imagined.
temporary, as if more permanent facilities would soon be built. I got the impression that this
was intended to make visitors get a feeling of the early days of the church, before it became
more established later. Inside everyone sits in a circle on a vinyl-covered floor and eats kimbap,
the Korean-style seaweed wrapped rice role, and kimchi, the spicy pickled cabbage that
everyone eats in Korea. Eating in this place of hiding of early Christians in Korea, a place that
commemorates martyrs, makes me think about how I usually grab a muffin or bagel or
sandwich. I become conscious of how in past times fast-food chains, convenience stores and
vending machines were not even imagined.
The memorial chapel to St. Kim Dae-geon, the first priest in Korea, also is a museum. Father Kim
Dae-geon was martyred in Seoul, and later his body was brought to rest at Mirinae, where our
footsteps would soon take us. In the museum there are vestments, a large painting of Kim
Dae-geon and of the Korean saints. Most of the signage in the museum is in Korean, and even
though I thought I had seen practically every kind of tourist venue in Korea, this one part of
Korea that I never expected to see and had never heard about. In addition, I consider the work
that these nuns who I am walking with do. They take care of aged people who face financial
hardships and need a place to stay.
Dae-geon was martyred in Seoul, and later his body was brought to rest at Mirinae, where our
footsteps would soon take us. In the museum there are vestments, a large painting of Kim
Dae-geon and of the Korean saints. Most of the signage in the museum is in Korean, and even
though I thought I had seen practically every kind of tourist venue in Korea, this one part of
Korea that I never expected to see and had never heard about. In addition, I consider the work
that these nuns who I am walking with do. They take care of aged people who face financial
hardships and need a place to stay.
The hike begins and Sister Mary Johanna hands me a rosary and tells me to say it to myself as
we walk. Saying the rosary and walking becomes an organizing principal and focus. Thoughts
wander and come back. There is nothing to think about and then thoughts collect and once
again are whole in the repeated prayers' phrases.
Passing through this forest on foot becomes itself a journey through time as much as one
through geography. Saying the rosary and walking makes me think of missionaries going into
locations where European thought had not yet made an appearance, not knowing exactly how
the events of the day would turn out, if the locals would be peaceable or hostile, if wild animals
or headhunters would lurk around the next bend in the trail. Yet, in actuality, this type of
experience of first-contact was never the case in Korea, where the Koreans themselves
brought the doctrine in from China and Japan.
we walk. Saying the rosary and walking becomes an organizing principal and focus. Thoughts
wander and come back. There is nothing to think about and then thoughts collect and once
again are whole in the repeated prayers' phrases.
Passing through this forest on foot becomes itself a journey through time as much as one
through geography. Saying the rosary and walking makes me think of missionaries going into
locations where European thought had not yet made an appearance, not knowing exactly how
the events of the day would turn out, if the locals would be peaceable or hostile, if wild animals
or headhunters would lurk around the next bend in the trail. Yet, in actuality, this type of
experience of first-contact was never the case in Korea, where the Koreans themselves
brought the doctrine in from China and Japan.
It is a hot, early fall day, the sharp chill wind of the night before mellowed into an Indian
summer’s afternoon. Unlike most of the hiking trails in mountainous Korea, this one leads not to
a peak or along a ridge. After the first part, through a stretch of deciduous forest, it follows
some valleys and runs along farmers’ fields, near the backyards of houses in average
neighborhoods. Reciting the rosary and walking with the nuns ensconces the ordinary in the
religious. The houses along the way are well kept with grassy yards, flower gardens, tiled
roofs. They are well taken-care of houses.
Past a gray, granite commemorative marker and down a gradual hill, there is Mirinae, suddenly,
at the end of the trail. Its name means “Milky Way.” The story is that the light from a farmer’s
house was reflected in a stream, which looked to those early Catholic faithful in hiding,
subsisting by slash-and-burn agriculture, in this valley, much like the Milky Way. Nowadays, of
course, people do not hidden slash-and-burn farming at Mirinae. At the end of the trail there is
a chapel for 79 martyrs who were beatified in 1925, later dedicated to the Mother of all Martyrs
in 1928.
summer’s afternoon. Unlike most of the hiking trails in mountainous Korea, this one leads not to
a peak or along a ridge. After the first part, through a stretch of deciduous forest, it follows
some valleys and runs along farmers’ fields, near the backyards of houses in average
neighborhoods. Reciting the rosary and walking with the nuns ensconces the ordinary in the
religious. The houses along the way are well kept with grassy yards, flower gardens, tiled
roofs. They are well taken-care of houses.
Past a gray, granite commemorative marker and down a gradual hill, there is Mirinae, suddenly,
at the end of the trail. Its name means “Milky Way.” The story is that the light from a farmer’s
house was reflected in a stream, which looked to those early Catholic faithful in hiding,
subsisting by slash-and-burn agriculture, in this valley, much like the Milky Way. Nowadays, of
course, people do not hidden slash-and-burn farming at Mirinae. At the end of the trail there is
a chapel for 79 martyrs who were beatified in 1925, later dedicated to the Mother of all Martyrs
in 1928.
Gray, granite slabs carved with religious symbols cover the four tombs in front of the chapel.
Father Andrew Kim Dae-geon’s grave is there. So is that of Father Ferreol, Jean Joseph, who
ordained Kim Dae-geon deacon and priest. On the right there is the tomb of Father Peter Moon-
Shik Choi, the first Korean missionary to Manchuria. On the left there is the tomb of Father Mark
Do-Young, the first pastor of Mirinae Church. Nearby too there is the grave of Father Kim Dae-
geon’s mother, Ursula Ko.
Father Andrew Kim Dae-geon’s grave is there. So is that of Father Ferreol, Jean Joseph, who
ordained Kim Dae-geon deacon and priest. On the right there is the tomb of Father Peter Moon-
Shik Choi, the first Korean missionary to Manchuria. On the left there is the tomb of Father Mark
Do-Young, the first pastor of Mirinae Church. Nearby too there is the grave of Father Kim Dae-
geon’s mother, Ursula Ko.
A grassy lawn spreads before the gray granite cathedral structure of the church built in 1991.
This one, beyond the pines of the smaller memorial chapel, is for the 103 Korean martyrs
canonized in 1984 in a ceremony to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Catholic faith in
Korea. This is a monumental yet unassuming structure, the interior of which harkens to a
medieval Europe , on the first floor. Up a winding staircase there are not further seats or a choir
loft on the second floor, but a balcony around the entire church, even behind the altar.
This space is not empty. There are re-creations of types of tortures that Koreans used on early
Catholics. Having one’s shins crushed with a rope, arms twisted in opposite directions, strung
up and beaten, body-less head strung up, were a few fates suffered by martyrs during the
persecutions. Among them are three blue-eyed French priests tied together seated next to a
stake, awaiting persecution and martyrdom. There is also a French spy dressed in the white,
mourning hanbok of the Chosun Dynasty. As was the custom of the time, in mourning he covers
the bottom part of his face with a fan.
This one, beyond the pines of the smaller memorial chapel, is for the 103 Korean martyrs
canonized in 1984 in a ceremony to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Catholic faith in
Korea. This is a monumental yet unassuming structure, the interior of which harkens to a
medieval Europe , on the first floor. Up a winding staircase there are not further seats or a choir
loft on the second floor, but a balcony around the entire church, even behind the altar.
This space is not empty. There are re-creations of types of tortures that Koreans used on early
Catholics. Having one’s shins crushed with a rope, arms twisted in opposite directions, strung
up and beaten, body-less head strung up, were a few fates suffered by martyrs during the
persecutions. Among them are three blue-eyed French priests tied together seated next to a
stake, awaiting persecution and martyrdom. There is also a French spy dressed in the white,
mourning hanbok of the Chosun Dynasty. As was the custom of the time, in mourning he covers
the bottom part of his face with a fan.
Looking at this display of suffering puts the meaning of spiritual pilgrimage in perspective. It is
difficult to comprehend for one who grew up as part of a post-hippie generation in a country
with a lot of religious freedom. Here in the modern world of computers and video games this
type of persecution seems distant and incomprehensible.
Carved monuments out by the field commemorate the fifteen mysteries of the rosary and there
are also statues for the Stations of the Cross. There is also a chapel to Mary, a compliment to
the large memorial church, built in the same style but without the steeple. Inside Mary’s statue
looks down at us, a big, blue-eyed Mary in sky-blue robes, at once intimidating and protective. A
special prayer is on a plaque on one wall, the “Interdecade Prayer of Rosary for Peace” that is a
supplication for world peace, a just path, Russian redemption, a world free of evil, a fervent
heart.
Somewhat later Hae-Jung and Matteo meet us in the parking lot with the van. A brief drive
through an agricultural landscape brings us back to the highway to return to Suwon. There is
dinner, at last, at a roadside rest stop, where consequently a large group of Harley Motorcycle
aficionados are taking their evening repast.
difficult to comprehend for one who grew up as part of a post-hippie generation in a country
with a lot of religious freedom. Here in the modern world of computers and video games this
type of persecution seems distant and incomprehensible.
Carved monuments out by the field commemorate the fifteen mysteries of the rosary and there
are also statues for the Stations of the Cross. There is also a chapel to Mary, a compliment to
the large memorial church, built in the same style but without the steeple. Inside Mary’s statue
looks down at us, a big, blue-eyed Mary in sky-blue robes, at once intimidating and protective. A
special prayer is on a plaque on one wall, the “Interdecade Prayer of Rosary for Peace” that is a
supplication for world peace, a just path, Russian redemption, a world free of evil, a fervent
heart.
Somewhat later Hae-Jung and Matteo meet us in the parking lot with the van. A brief drive
through an agricultural landscape brings us back to the highway to return to Suwon. There is
dinner, at last, at a roadside rest stop, where consequently a large group of Harley Motorcycle
aficionados are taking their evening repast.