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Baeron Holy Ground was named the City/Province-Designated Monument 118 on March 2, 2001.
Once one looks around the Baeron Holy Ground, which is of high importance in the history of the Catholic Church, one can see the struggles of the faithful to keep their faith. To bring comfort to the spirits of the martyred saints, people float dandelions along the stream in lieu of a formal greeting.
Located deep in the valley, the site was similar to the bottom of a ship, hence earning the name “Juron” or “Baeron.” The holy ground is the origin of spread of Korean Catholicism and has a great meaning in the history of the Catholic Church in Korea. During the Catholic Persecution of 1801, many Catholics went into hiding at Baeron Holy Ground and sustained themselves by selling pottery.
During the persecution, Hwang Sa-yeong compiled a white paper detailing the extent of the persecution of the times and requesting salvation for the Faithful inside the cave the original copy is stored in the Vatican Museums. At this location, St. Joseph’s Seminary, the first Catholic seminary in Korea, was founded in 1855. The foreign priests and students of the seminary were martyred during the Byeongin Persecution and the seminary was closed down.
The site is also home to the grave of Choe Yang-eop, Korea’s first exchange student and the second Korean priest after Priest Kim Dae-geon, and is the birthplace of Nam Jong-sam, the first martyr of the Byeongin Persecution. Since this is the sole Catholic holy ground in Korea, various visitors and tourists visit Baeron on pilgrimage every holiday, injecting some life into this quiet mountain village. The autumn leaves are especially beautiful and the scarlet red leaves from the entrance are complemented by the green grass and the fall sunlight, moving the minds of all who gaze upon them.
자연치유도시 제천 문화관광
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