Jeoldu-san (Korean: 절두산, Hanja: 切頭山) (lit. ''beheading mountain'') is a rocky promontory overlooking the
Han River in the district of
Mapo-gu
Mapo District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea.
Mapo has a population of 381,330 (2015) and has a geographic area of 23.87 km2 (9.22 sq mi), and is divided into 24 '' dong'' (administrative neighborhoods). Mapo is located in ...
,
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
. Literal translation is "cutting off head mountain." A public memorial shrine is located at a historic ferry landing next to
Yanghwajin Foreigners' Cemetery.
History
It came into use as an execution site for mostly Korean converts to Catholicism during the rule of the
Daewon-gun, the
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of
Joseon, in the late 1860s. The present memorial was built for the 100th anniversary of the
Byeonin Persecution, and dedicated to the approximately 8,000 executions at the site. In 1984,
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
visited the site, while
Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...
did so a year later. The memorial currently enshrines some 3,000
relics
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tang ...
related to the martyrs.
Galbijim
/ref>
See also
*Korean Martyrs
The Korean Martyrs were the victims of religious persecution against Catholics during the nineteenth century in Korea. Between 8,000–10,000 Korean Christians were killed during this period. 103 Catholics were canonized ''en masse'' in May 1984 ...
*List of museums in South Korea
There are over 500 museums and galleries in South Korea.
National museums
Museums in Seoul
Provincial and private museums
See also
* Architecture of South Korea
* List of South Korean tourist attractions
* List of tallest buildings in Seou ...
* List of museums in Seoul
References
External links
Naju-Mary
Catholic history stub
절두산
Homepage (Korean)
19th-century Roman Catholic martyrs
Catholic martyrs of the Late Modern era
Executed Korean people
Korean Roman Catholic saints
Catholic Church in Korea
Year of birth unknown
Museums established in 1967
1967 establishments in South Korea
{{SouthKorea-museum-stub