Catholic church built over the spirits of martyrs

Jeonju is the ancestral home of King Taejo Yi Seong-gye, the founder of the Joseon Dynasty (1392~1910) that also houses Gyeonggijeon Shrine, which enshrines the portrait of King Taejo. For this reason, Jeonju, along with Hanyang (currently Seoul) and Pyeongyang (currently North Korea's capital), was one of the three major cities during the Joseon era. Since Confucianism had significant influence at the time, following Catholicism and refusing ancestral rituals and burning ancestral tablets were unacceptable. Ultimately two Catholics (Paul Yun Ji-Chung and James Kwon Sang-Yeon) were beheaded, and their heads were hung on the walls of Pungnammun Gate. They were the first Catholic martyrs in Joseon in 1791, and the Jeondong Catholic Church was built at this historical site approximately 90 years after that. The Catholic church was built in a region where Catholic persecution was most severe. Approximately 90 years later in 1886, the Joseon Dynasty accepted France’s request for permission to do missionary work and protect the identities of Catholics in Joseon through the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the two countries. Due to the treaty, French priest Francis Baudounet purchased a site in 1891 and priest Victor Louis Poisnel designed the church. Construction began in 1908 and was completed in 1914. Jeondong Catholic Church is regarded as one of the most beautiful Catholic churches in Korea thanks to its combination of Byzantine and Romanesque styles. The red and dark gray bricks of the façade complement one another; and the three bell towers—tallest in the middle topped with a Byzantine style dome and two shorter towers on each side—look as if they were rising into the sky. The Romanesque style arched windows add graceful beauty to the building, while sunlight streaming through the colorful stained glass windows create an elegant and reverent atmosphere. There is a story behind the building’s cornerstones, which were brought from the Pungnammun Gate. During Japanese colonialism (1910~1945), Japan destroyed all the walled towns and fortresses in order to pave new roads. In Jeonju, the Japanese removed the entire Jeonjuseong Walled Town with the exception of Pungnammun Gate.
Stones from the destroyed wall were brought and used as cornerstones for the church. This was very meaningful since Catholics were persecuted in front of the Walled Town. Jeondong Catholic Church has been praised beyond race and religion, for more than 100 years.