South Korean Pilgrimage

I am so proud to be coming from the Philippines - the only Christian country in Asia.  Asia is a Buddhist region and credits to Spain for discovering the Philippines and introducing Christianity.  But in June 2018 I felt different.

I was invited by a new friend to join the South Korean Pilgrimage or to Naju. We left in June 2018 together with 28 other pilgrims including two priests.  Naju is a very popular pilgrim destination where Julia Kim claimed to have vision of Mother Mary.  We came there during the anniversary and thousands of devotees flocked to the location to see her and give reverence to Our Lady of Naju. Aside from  Naju, we also went to Anseong and Haemi where Holy Mass was said. I fell inlove with South Korea.  I love their food, I love their tourist destination, I love shopping there.  But there is one fact that I learned and found amazing.  Majority of South Koreans are Buddhist, second in rank are the Protestants. There is a very small percentage of Catholics in Korea. But the Catholic Church history there says these small percentage were persecuted and lots stood up to their faith and they were martyred.  Most of them were unnamed.  In the documentary that we watched, there were survivors who told their stories.  "The men and women were told to hike up the mountains and they never came back."

The Catholics were martyred.  They were either hanged on the tree, beaten to death, thrown from the cliff... 

drowned to death, buried alive.

South Korea may not be a Christian nation but they have more Catholic Saints (Unnamed Martyrs) who chose to die than turn back from their faith.

103 Korean Martyrs!

And this made me think...

... if Filipinos are persecuted, how many are willing to die for their faith?  

Will you be one of them?

Will I be one of them?