Myeongdong Cathedral

Full transcript

Annyeong, yeoreobun! It's Yul from KVIBE IDOLS. Everyone comes to Myeongdong for skincare and street food. But look up the hill. See that red-brick tower, about 45 meters tall? That's Myeongdong Cathedral, and its story starts in... a living room.

Here's the twist. In many countries, Christianity arrived with foreign missionaries. In Korea, Koreans brought it in themselves! In 1784, a scholar named Yi Seung-hun was baptized in Beijing and came home to share the faith. In 1785, believers gathered secretly at the house of a man named Kim Beom-u, right here on this hill. But the meetings were discovered. Kim was punished and exiled, and he died of his injuries. Many remember him as the first martyr of Korean Catholicism.

Then came about a century of persecution. Only in the 1880s, after Korea signed treaties with Western countries, could Catholics build openly. In 1892 the cornerstone was laid, and on May 29, 1898, the cathedral was consecrated. French priests designed it, and builders used about twenty kinds of locally fired bricks. It was the first Gothic Revival church in Korea. Daebak!

In the crypt below the altar rest relics of martyrs from the persecutions. And in 1987, the cathedral sheltered student protesters, becoming a symbol of Korea's fight for democracy. Today it's Historic Site No. 258.

Yul's tip! This is a working church. If Mass is on, stay quiet, no flash photos, and dress modestly. Walk up from Myeongdong Station Exit 8.

Next, let's follow those martyrs to a cliff above the Han River. Kaja!