Chungcheongnam-do

▲ Beogeunae Pilgrimage Path in Dangjin extending from the Hapdeok town area to Sapgyocheon Stream

Beogeunae Pilgrimage Path in Dangjin, a path filled with the history of martyrdom and persecution that connects to the Catholic cultural heritage of Naepo, was selected as the recommended street by the Korea Tourism Organization, earning popularity as a great location to take a stroll on a spring day.

The name "Beogeunae" comes from the old name of Hapdeok Marketplace and a stream that flows through the Hapdeok town area into Sapgyocheon Stream. In the nearby area, there Solmoe Shrine, the birth place of Korea's first Catholic priest, Kim Tae-gon, and Korea's largest Catholic holy ground from which the largest number of Catholic believers and martyrs in the history of Korea's Catholic Church was produced.

The pilgrimage path is a 13.3km course that starts from Solmoe Shrine. It then passes through Hakdeok Cathedral, which was built in 1929, Hapdeokje, which was registered as a Heritage Irrigation Structure last year, Hapdeokje Jungsubi, the site of the Well of Won Shi-jang and Won Shi-bo and the tomb of an unknown martyr and ends at Sinri Shrine. 

Beogeunae Pilgrimage Path won nationwide fame following the visit of Pope Francis in 2014. Visited by around 200,000 Catholic believers and pilgrims per year, it is Korea's representative site for religion healing and tourism.

In 2016, it was selected to win the Asian Townscape Award through which the beauty of the path was known all over Asia. Having highly evaluated the value of this pilgrimage path as a historical tourism resource even before the visit by Pope Francis, Dangjin-si is promoting a development project to install and establish signboards, convenience facilities and base areas.

In 2021, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Kim Tae-gon, a big celebratory event will be held at Solmoe Shrine, the starting point of Beogeunae Pilgrimage Path and the birth place of Kim Tae-gon, as well as Hapdeok Cathedral and Sinri Holy Land, the Catholic cultural assets of Naepo.