This year marks 90 years since Columban missionaries first arrived in Korea. In 1933, nine Columbans on their way to China received word to go to Korea instead. Many Columbans from Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand have served in Korea. Some of them, on their return to Australia, worked as chaplains to the Korean community in Sydney. July this year also marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean war. Six Columbans were martyred by the North Korean army during the Korean War of 1950-1953, and one died in prison. Two Columbans survived the infamous Death March to North Korea. One of them was Australian Columban Fr Philip Crosbie, who served in Korea for over 50 years.
In March this year I travelled to Seoul, Korea to attend our Columban International Leadership Team meeting. Twenty-four Columban priests, lay missionaries, and co-workers gathered to prepare for our Columban General Assembly in May 2024. At our opening mass, Bishop Job Koo Yobi, auxiliary in Seoul Archdiocese, thanked the Columbans for their “dedicated service over the past 90 years to evangelization and mission work, enabling the faith of the Korean Catholics to grow in maturity.”
On our free weekend, several of us travelled three hours by train to Samcheok City on the east coast of Korea to visit the parish where Columban Fr James Maginn was appointed as the first parish priest of the new parish in 1949. Born in Montana, U.S.A., Fr James was ordained in 1935 and arrived in Korea the following year. Within a year of his appointment to Samcheok, the Korean war broke out. The local parishioners, preparing to flee, pleaded with Fr James to come with them, but he refused, stating he would stay with the community and the church until the very end. He divided the parish money among the parishioners, telling them to use it when necessary.
On July 1, the Communist army took over Samcheok, and the next day, Fr James was arrested in the church after celebrating Sunday Mass. One of the parishioners, Kim Su-song John, a teacher at the local high school, was also arrested and detained. Fr James and John were both tortured to force them to renounce their faith. On the night of July 4, Fr James was taken away by the communists and was shot, martyred at the side of a little stream in front of Janwondong village, Samcheok. The villagers buried him in a temporary grave on the nearby hill. In October 1951, his body was exhumed and buried in the priests’ cemetery behind the Cathedral in Chuncheon City.
Upon our arrival at the church, we received a warm welcome by the Korean parish priest and local parishioners. In front of the church, there was a banner with the words “Welcome to Samcheok. We love Columbans.” Inside the church, a commemorative monument was built in 1974 to honor Fr James’ sacrifice, and a bust sculpture of him was erected in front of the church in 2015. We joined the 4:00pm Saturday afternoon children’s mass where more than 30 children with their parents and other parishioners gathered. The children sang all the hymns with gusto. Following the mass, we joined the parishioners for afternoon tea, where some of the elderly parishioners shared heart-warming memories of the many Columban priests who served in the parish from 1949-1981. Most of them were baptized as teenagers or young adults and shared the nerve-wracking experience of having to pass a catechism exam before they could be baptized.
After bidding farewell to the parishioners, we visited the site where Fr James was killed. A hardware factory now stands in front of the hill where Fr James was buried in a temporary grave. The owner of the factory graciously allowed us to enter his property so we could pray at Fr James’ memorial stone that was erected on the side of the hill behind the factory. As is customary in Korean culture, Columban Society Leader Fr Tim Mulroy poured a glass of wine on top of and on both sides of the memorial stone. Together we prayed the prayer for the beatification of Fr James. Every Sunday throughout the Chuncheon Diocese, at the beginning of Mass, the people offer this prayer for the beatification of the Columban Martyrs.
Fr Peter O'Neill
Regional Director of Oceania
directoroceania@columban.org.au
Listen to "From the Director - Columban Martyrs in Korea"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - June 2023
