the Church of silence in the north of this tragically divided land". After the canonization of the 103 Martyrs, the Catholic Church in Korea felt that the martyrs who died in the other persecutions also need to be recognized. In 2003, the beatification process for 124 martyrs who died in persecutions between 1791 and 1888 began. They were declared Venerable by Pope Francis on 7 February 2014. The group is headed by Paul Yun Ji-Chung, a nobleman who converted to Catholicism and refused to have his deceased mother buried under the traditional Confucian rite. His refusal led to a massive persecution of Christians called the Sinhae Persecution in 1791. Paul was beheaded on 8 December 1791, together with his cousin, James Kwon Sang-yeon. They were the first members of the Korean Nobility to be killed for the faith. Among the martyrs in this group are Fr. James Zhou Wen-mo (1752–1801), a Chinese priest who secretly ministered to the Christians in Korea; Augustine Jeong Yak-Jong (1760–1801), the husband of St. Cecilia Yu So-sa and father of Sts. Paul Chong Ha-sang and Elizabeth Chong Chong-hye; Columba Kang Wan-suk (1761–1801), known as the "catechist of the Korean Martyrs"; Augustine Yu Hang-geom (1756–1801), also known as the "apostle of Jeolla-do"; and Maria Yi Seong-rye (1801–1840), the wife of St. Francis Choe Kyeong-hwan. Also included in the group are Augustine Yu Hang-geom's son John Yu Jeong-cheol (1779–1801) and his wife Lutgarda Yi Sun-i (1782–1802). They both decided to live celibate lives in order to fully dedicate themselves to God, but the Confucian society, which greatly valued furthering the family line, made it impossible for them to live as celibates. Fr. James Zhou introduced the two to each other and suggested them to marry each other and live as a "virgin couple". The two were married in 1797 and were martyred 4 years later. Korean Martyrs Museum-Shrine The Museum-Shrine, which contains rooms for liturgical celebration and prayer, was built in 1967 on the site in Jeoldu-san, where many of the Korean martyrs died from 1866 to 1873. The Shrine-Museum presents numerous historical documents, visual reconstructions, photographs and documentaries. The Christian community suffered harsh persecutions, especially in the second half of the 1800s. In 2004 the Archdiocese of Seoul opened its investigation into the cause for beatification of the Servant of God Paul Yun Ji-Chung and his 123 companions who in 1791 were tortured and killed in