Page 163 - 영문 이성필성지순례여행

160 Jeolla-do Jeolla-do 161

145 Nampyeong Church 146 Yumsan Church

32-7 Nampyeong 2-ro, Nampyeong-eup, Naju-si 34-30 Hyanghwa-ro 5-gil, Yumsan-myeon, Yeonggwang-gun

Naju Nampyeong Church, established in 1900, has been keeping the conservative faith
by seeking the truth at every tumultuous crisis, and served as an excellent foundation for
missionaries from Presbyterian Church in the United States to evangelize the Honam area.
In 1938, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church decided to accept Japanese
Shintoism, but Pastor Kang Soon-myeong from Nampyeong Church denied to the
decision. As the Church of Christ in Japan was formed in Joseon in 1942, Nampyeong
church declared the withdrawal from Gwangju Presbyterian Church, and it had to be Christian Martyrdom Tower
closed, worship was stopped, but the pastor did not bend to the Japanese. Ironically, the
church was opened again by a Japanese, Mrs. Mori, and after liberation, it returned to the
Jeonnam Presbyterian Church to these days. Most importantly, when humanistic liberal
theology from Japan began to enter the Korean church like waves, the Korea Evangelical
Association, whose 51 members submitted the petition for Kim Jae-jun’s lecture like ‘theory Yumsan Church
of Biblical Errors, denial of birth of Virgin Mary, and the denial of Jesus’ resurrection’ to
the 33rd General Assembly in 1947, was organized at the Nampyeong Church on July 24,
“The blood of the martyr
1953, with Pastor Park Hyung-ryong as a leader along with seminaries on the conservative
is the seed of the church.”
faith line. Christians who make a pilgrimage to Nampyeong Church, should seek the
(Tertullian)
conservative faith while watching the stone at the entrance of the chapel.
Mass grave of Yumsan Church / flood gates of Suldo port
“ The church has been kept the Traditional Conservative Theology.” Yumsan Church, established in 1939, located in Yeonggwang-gun, is the church of martyrs
killed by communists. When the Korean Armed Forces marched into Yeonggwang during
the Korean War, communists who had not yet retreated set the chapel on fire and tied the
church members with a rope at the floodgates by the sea and buried them with stones in
the water.
At this time, 77 people, the three-quarters of all believers, were martyred. During Japanese
period, the church established a school to eradicate illiteracy and the chapel bell was taken
away while refusing to worship at the shrine. The communist army lined up Pastor Kim
Bang-ho and his family of seven, threatening his son to club his father. Of course, he could
do that. Then, they kicked and crushed Pastor Kim with military boots and club to death in
front of their families. And then, they killed Pastor Kim’s wife and killed his five sons, eight-
year old and five-year old grandchildren in sequence. Since 1997, the martyrdom memorial
project has been promoted to establish a church site of 6,600㎡ and made a martyrdom
park. The martyrdom data exhibition hall and martyrdom education hall have been opened
to display 200 materials and relics, and 77 martyrs’ monument completed and erected in
The chapel of Nampyeong Church A stone of The 105th year of front of the church. In addition, a booklet and DVD of “77 Martyrs’ History” produced to
anniversary of church foundation
record their historical facts.