Juksan Holy Ground (Ijin-teo Holy Ground)

This is the place where numerous Catholics were executed and subjected to interrogation and torture during the Byeongin Persecution of 1866. Juksan, a major crossroads dividing Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang provinces, was where a Dohobu (local administrative office) was established during the Joseon Dynasty due to its geographical conditions. At the current site of the Juksan-myeon office, Catholics were executed after brutal torture. The names of the martyrs who died here are recorded in the "Records of Martyrdom" and "Testimonies," with at least 25 identified. However, given the circumstances of the time, when Cheokhwabi (anti-Catholic monuments) were erected and Oga-jaktong (a five-household mutual surveillance system) was used to hunt down and indiscriminately arrest and execute Catholics, it is believed that there were more martyrs. The original name of this place is Ijin-teo. During the Goryeo Dynasty, Mongol forces camped here to attack Jukju Mountain Fortress. Thus, it was called this name because it was where the barbarians ("I" meaning barbarian) set up camp. However, after the Byeongin Persecution, Ijin-teo came to be called "Ijeun-teo" (meaning "forgotten place") because people said, "If you are taken there, you will die, so forget it." In Juksan, there is also a place called Dudeulgi. About 15 ri from the town of Juksan, now the seat of Samjuk-myeon, it is a large village with about 80 households, but in the past, it was a small inn area with sparse houses. This inn area often served as a resting place for Catholics from Yongin, Anseong, and Wonsam who were arrested by police officers and taken along the escort route.