The global Catholic community faced an alarming increase in the persecution of its clergy in 2023 as a total of 132 priests and religious figures were arrested, abducted or killed, according to a new report.
Lee Joon-ik proved in the most impressive way, that he can direct biopics in black-and-white, when he released "DongJu, The Portrait of A Poet" one of the best films of the last few years. Continuing in the same visual recipe, he has now come up with one set in 1801, about the Joseon era scholar Jeong Yak-jeon, DongJu, The Portrait of A Poet, The Book of Fish, Byun Yo-han, Cha Soon-bae, Kang Ki-young, Kim Jeong-hoon-III, Lee Eui-tae, Lee Joon-ik, Lee Jung-eun, Min Dohee, Sol Kyung-gu
Prayer Intention: For all children and adolescents
A prelude to information about the Shrine of Our Lady might be about the growth of the Catholic Church in South Korea. The Church has gone through various stages of persecution and suffered the martyrdom of many believers, especially during the 19th Century.
Pope Saint John Paul II canonized a group of these martyrs in 1984, including St. Andrew Taegon Kim, the first Korean-born priest. Another set-back to the development of the Catholic Church in South Korea was also the Korean War which began when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border. It has been called the ‘Fatherland Liberation War” which lasted from June 1950 – July 1953. It was a war between North Korea (with the support of China and the Soviet Union) and South Korea (with the support of the United Nations).