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10. Korea's "Martyr of Sweat" Moves Closer to Beatification

Apr 3, 2026 | Pilgrimage | hellokr.kr

On March 26, 2026, a panel of seven medical experts at the Vatican ruled that a miraculous healing attributed to Father Thomas Choi Yang-up cannot be explained by science. It's the first major hurdle cleared in a 25-year effort to have Korea's second Catholic priest declared Blessed.

If you've never heard of Choi Yang-up, you're not alone — even many Korean Catholics only know his name in passing. But his story is arguably more extraordinary than that of St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Korea's famous first priest. While Kim was martyred at 25, Choi spent 11 years walking through the mountains of persecution-era Korea, visiting secret Catholic villages on foot, covering 2,800 km every year — roughly the distance from Seoul to Bangkok. He died not by execution, but by exhaustion. That's why they call him the "Martyr of Sweat."

📌 Quick Summary

  • Who: Venerable Thomas Choi Yang-up (1821–1861), Korea's second Catholic priest
  • What happened: Vatican medical panel confirmed a "miraculous healing" attributed to his intercession (Mar 26, 2026)
  • What's next: Theology committee review, then Cardinals/Bishops meeting, then Pope's final approval
  • If approved: He becomes "Blessed" — one step below sainthood
  • Why it matters: First Korean non-martyr to potentially be beatified; a new model of holiness through service
  • WYD 2027 connection: Beatification could coincide with World Youth Day in Seoul (Aug 2027)

📜 The Breaking News

On March 31, 2026, the Korean Catholic Bishops' Conference officially announced that the Vatican's Consulta Medica — a panel of seven medical experts within the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints — had examined a case of healing attributed to Father Choi's intercession and concluded it was scientifically inexplicable.

This is significant because it's the second attempt. In May 2021, the Vatican rejected the first miracle case submitted (reportedly related to an eye condition) due to insufficient scientific evidence. The Korean Church regrouped, collected new cases from parishes across the country, and resubmitted. This time, the medical panel said yes.

The specific details of the healing — the patient's name, condition, and hospital — remain confidential under Vatican protocol until the beatification process is complete.

Two more stages remain before beatification: a theology committee must verify there are no doctrinal issues, and then a meeting of Cardinals and Bishops must give final approval before recommending to the Pope. If all goes well, many Korean Catholics hope the timing could align with WYD 2027 in Seoul — though no official timeline has been announced.

🚶 Who Was Father Choi Yang-up?

Thomas Choi Yang-up was born in 1821 in Chungcheong Province, into a family that would become one of the most remarkable in Korean Catholic history. His father, Francis Choi Gyeong-hwan, was later canonized as a saint. His mother, Lee Seong-rye, was declared Blessed. He grew up in a family that knew the cost of faith.

In 1836, at age 15, Choi was selected along with two other boys — including the future St. Andrew Kim Taegon — to train as priests abroad. They walked across the Korean border into China and eventually made their way to seminaries in Macau and Manila. It took 13 years of study and travel before Choi was finally ordained in Shanghai in 1849.

When he returned to Korea, the country was in the grip of one of the deadliest anti-Catholic persecutions in Asian history. Thousands had already been executed. Foreign missionaries were hunted. Catholic villages had retreated deep into the mountains.

The Walking Priest

For the next 11 years and 6 months, Father Choi walked. And walked. And walked.

He visited 127 Catholic villages scattered across the Korean peninsula — remote mountain communities where Catholics had fled to practice their faith in secret. He traveled on foot through rugged terrain, covering approximately 7,000 ri (2,800 km) every year. To put that in perspective, that's like walking from London to Istanbul — every single year, through mountains, in secret, while being hunted.

He personally ministered to 3,800 believers, distributed Korean-language catechism materials he had translated himself, and wrote detailed letters to the Paris Foreign Missions Society describing the state of the Korean Church. These letters — written in fluent Latin — are now considered some of the most important primary sources for understanding 19th-century Korean Catholicism. An English translation was published in 2023.

His Latin skills also played a crucial behind-the-scenes role: he helped prepare the documentation that led to the beatification of the martyrs of the Gihae (1839) and Byeongo (1846) persecutions — a contribution that was only fully recognized by historians decades later.

Death by Exhaustion

On June 15, 1861, Father Choi died at Baeron, a hidden Catholic village in what is now Chungcheongbuk-do Province. He was 40 years old. The cause: typhoid fever compounded by years of physical exhaustion. He had literally walked himself to death in service of his people.

Unlike Korea's 103 canonized saints, Choi was not executed. He was not a martyr in the traditional sense. But the Korean Church has long argued that his life of extreme self-sacrifice constitutes a different kind of martyrdom — a "martyrdom of sweat" — and that his heroic virtue is no less worthy of recognition.

⛪ The Road to Beatification

The cause for Father Choi's beatification has been a long journey:

If the remaining two stages are completed successfully, Father Choi would become Blessed — the third of four steps toward sainthood. One more confirmed miracle after beatification would be needed for canonization as a Saint.

🏛️ Places to Visit

If Father Choi's story moves you, several pilgrimage sites in Korea are directly connected to his life:

Baeti Holy Site (배티성지), Jincheon, Chungcheongbuk-do

This is where Choi Yang-up was born and raised. The site includes a museum dedicated to his life, a memorial church, and walking trails through the mountain village where his family lived. The diocese held a special celebration here in March 2026 for his 205th birth anniversary.

Baeron Holy Site (배론성지), Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do

This is where Father Choi died in 1861 and where Korea's first Catholic seminary (St. Joseph's Seminary) was established in 1855. The site includes his tomb, a memorial chapel, and forest walking paths. It's also a popular stop on the "Hope Pilgrimage" (희망의 순례) route organized by Wonju Diocese.

Seoul Pilgrimage Trail

While not directly tied to Father Choi, the Seoul Martyrs' Pilgrimage Trail tells the broader story of Korean Catholic persecution — the same world Father Choi lived and served in. The Seosomun Shrine and Jeoldusan Shrine both cover the persecution eras he witnessed.

💡 Why This Matters for WYD 2027 Visitors

If you're planning to attend World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul (August 3–8, 2027), Father Choi's story adds a powerful new dimension to your pilgrimage:

📝 The Bottom Line

Korea's Catholic story is usually told through its martyrs — the thousands who were beheaded, drowned, or burned for their faith. Father Choi Yang-up offers a different chapter: a man who survived the persecutions not by hiding, but by walking into them, village by village, mountain by mountain, year after year, until his body gave out.

The Vatican just confirmed that something miraculous happened through his intercession. Two more steps remain. But for the Korean Church — and for the millions of Catholics who will gather in Seoul for WYD 2027 — the "Martyr of Sweat" is closer than ever to being recognized for what he was: a man who gave everything, one step at a time.

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