Martyrs' Memorial

Jeondong Cathedral
Jeonju, Korea

The cathedral was built on the site where several Korean Catholic martyrs had been executed (1781 and 1801). At this time Christianity was seen as a threat to the Korean state and persecuted, because the Church refused to condone the Confucian ritual of ancestor worship.

The martyr in this sculpture is wearing the cangue, a kind of pillory that was a typical punishment device in Korea and China.