Tomb of Patriotic Martyrs, Hongseong

Basic information

Designation

Historic Site No.431

Category

유적지

Designated year

2001

Location

홍성군, 충청남도— 충남 홍성군 홍성읍 의사로 79, 외 (대교리)

Coordinates

36.605773, 126.670821

This is a tomb enshrining the remains of hundreds of soldiers of “righteous armies” who died in the battle of Hongjuseong Fortress in Hongseong-gun toward the end of the Korean Empire Period. When the 1905 Protectorate Treaty with Japan was signed, the righteous armies all over the country did not take it sitting down but were particularly active in the Hongseong region in Chungcheongnam-do under the leadership of Min Jong-sik, a high-ranking government official at the time. In 1906, under the orders of Emperor Gojong, Min raised an army and attacked the Japanese soldiers in Nampo and Boryeong, seizing their weapons, and captured Hongjuseong Fortress on March 20 that year. When the canon attacks of the Japanese intensified, however, hundreds of soldiers died, with the corpses abandoned by the banks of Hongjucheon Stream and around Namsan Mountain. When they were identified as the remains of the soldiers who had fought the Japanese in 1949, they were moved to this tomb in Hongju. Judging from major records dealing with the Hongju righteous armies such as Hongyang ilgi (Diary of County Magistrate of Hongju), Hongyang gisa (Records of Battle of Hongjuseong Fortress), and Joseon choegeunsa (Recent History of Joseon), at least 98 and as many as several hundred soldiers died in the battle of Hongjuseong. The mound of the tomb is surrounded by stones at the bottom; on the right is an epitaph composed by Jeong In-bo and executed by Sim Sang-jik. There is also a pair of stone pillars in front of the tomb, one each on the left and right. Because the nearby Changuisa Shrine honors the souls of the 900 soldiers who died fighting the Japanese, the tomb was originally called Gubaekuichong (tomb of 900 soldiers) but renamed Tomb of Patriotic Martyrs in 1992. On May 30 every year, a memorial ceremony is held at the tomb, which is an important site for honoring the patriotic spirit of the soldiers who died while defending the nation.

Location