Page 24 - EH66

22 EASTERN HORIZON | FEATURE

of Catholics, but consequently the persecution of …
Cheonjinam Hermitage and Jueosa Temple that
protected the Catholic community. I can’t recall the past as it is blurry
The water flows out of the rotting container
The Forgotten Buddhist Roots of Korean Catholicism And broken pieces of roof tiles scattered across the hill

The Buddhist temple complex of Cheonjinam Hermitage Dasan Jeong Yakyong, who was sincerely grateful
and Jueosa Temple, where the essence of Bodicitta was to the monks of Cheonjinam Hermitage and Jueosa
practiced, had been burnt to ashes and blown away Temple for hiding them, continued to write during
completely by the winds of time. his exile. Dasan’s most famous text, “Admonitions on
Governing the People,” (Mongmin Simseo), completed
The nameless Buddhist monks who compassionately in 1818, contained his core ideologies. This epic text
embraced the Catholic scholars and executed for reflects the pure intentions of the young Catholic
protecting the Catholics were known as “chunjugyo scholars that pursued their search of truth for a society

bihosaeryuk” and deemed as enemies of the state. that is comfortable for all people of Joseon, and the
And in present time Korea, the very existence of compassionate and altruistic spirit of Korean Buddhism
Cheonjinam Hermitage and Jueosa Temple and the that continued to pray for the end of suffering for the
sacrificed lives of monks who protected the Catholic people, despite the strong policy of “Sungyooukbul” that
scholars have been completely disregarded, distorted, lasted 500 years.
and hidden away by the Catholic community that they
protected. Cheonjinam Hermitage and Jueosa Temple: The Site
of Religious Harmony
All mentions of the monks and remains of the site are
almost wiped off from history, but fortunately a small In August 2021, Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do signed an
fragment remains in Dasan Jeong Yakyon’s compilations agreement with the Catholic Diocese of Suwon to create
of Analects of Dasan (Dasanmunjib), the Journal of the a Catholic pilgrimage route from Cheonjinam Hermitage

Royal Secretariat (Seungjeongwon ilgi), written by the to Namhansanseong Fortress. The purpose of this
Royal Secretariats of the Joseon Dynasty, and ancient project was expressed to honor the Korean Catholic
maps of the mid Joseon era. martyrs along with the regional characteristics as the
birthplace of Korean Catholicism.
In 1818, Dasan Jeong Yakyong, who was tortured
during the Shinyu Persecution and exiled to the There was no mention regarding the sacrificed lives of
provinces, returned to his hometown of Gwangju, the monks of Cheonjinam Hermitage. Furthermore, the
Gyeonggi-do after 18 years of exile. In 1827, Dasan historical value of Namhansanseong Fortress, built and
Jeong Yakyong (at age 66) composed a poem about defended by Buddhist soldier-monks and a symbol of
Cheonjinam Hermitage, where he participated in the National Protection Buddhism was also disregarded.
Kanghakhoe academic seminar group, in his poetry
compilation, Cheonjinseoyojib. Moreover, the Catholic Diocese of Suwon announced a
new cathedral that will represent Korean Catholicism,
In this poem, he descriptively narrated his return to the set to be constructed at the Cheonjinam hermitage
site of Cheonjinam Hermitage after 30 years, where the site by 2079 in celebration of the 300th anniversary
hermitage had been burned down and destroyed. of Catholicism in Korea. There was no trace of the
… nameless monks who had been persecuted and
前躅凄迷不可求 executed; Cheonjinam Hermitage and Jueosa Temple
黃黧啼斷綠陰幽 that were burned down and destroyed for protecting
朽筒引滴涓涓水 the Catholic community are both erased by the Catholic
破瓦耕翻壘壘丘 community. Even the Buddhist stupa which remained