Series | Studi e ricerche
Edited book | Cultural Exchanges Between Korea and the West
Chapter | Crossroads: The Meetings of Korea and the World Through Pilgrimage Routes
Crossroads: The Meetings of Korea and the World Through Pilgrimage Routes
Abstract
The history of Catholicism in Korea is complex – it can be seen as connected negatively to Western imperialism or positively to modernity. This paper will explore how Korean Catholics have sought to build a positive image for their faith through Catholic holy sites in a large part by utilizing the legitimacy of international religious and secular authorities. In particular, it will examine the three international pilgrimage routes recognized by the Vatican after Pope Francis’ 2014 visit to Korea. Haemi, the internationally recognized site famous for its large number of ‘nameless martyrs’; Solmoe, the birthplace of the first Korean priest and UNESCO-sponsored events associated with it; and Puŏnggol, the site of a seminary led by French missionary priests.
Submitted: Sept. 5, 2022 | Accepted: March 2, 2023 | Published Aug. 30, 2023 | Language: en
Keywords UNESCO • Korean Catholic Church • Pilgrim sites • Pope • Vatican
Copyright © 2023 Franklin Rausch. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-717-3/005
