By UCA News Reporter
A Catholic couple in South Korea who are currently on their 14th pilgrimage to 167 holy sites across the country say that their travels are a visit to their “spiritual home.”
Joseph Kim Kwang-sik, 70, and Anna Choi Bok-soon, 69, have so far hit nearly 100,000 kilometers, a distance just enough to circle the Earth 2.5 times.
But their travels are not about making a record number of visits to the pilgrimage sites; it is about travelling the path that Korean martyrs took centuries ago, says Choi.
“When believers think of holy sites, they imagine specific places designated within each diocese. But during the persecution era, the martyrs constantly moved on foot to evade the authorities’ eyes,” Choi said.
“Therefore, the footsteps of the martyrs remain everywhere across Korean soil,” Choi emphasized.
A pilgrimage and a path of memories
The Catholic Church in South Korea observes September each year as the Month of the Martyrs, a time for special reflection on and learning from the faith of the martyrs.
Kim, Choi, and their elder son, Peter Kim Byeong-seon, made their first successful pilgrimage along the holy site route in Sep 2012.
The couple took Peter, who had mobility issues due to a brain lesion, on eight successful pilgrimages until his death in Oct 2020 at the age of 47.
Choi recalls how people often ask them about the difficulties they faced while travelling with Peter, and the relief that they do not have to worry anymore about travel arrangements.
“Not at all,” says Choi.
While difficulties during the pilgrimages with Peter may have been tenfold or even a hundredfold more difficult, humanly and physically, embarking on a pilgrimage without their son brought an “even greater sense of emptiness,” says Choi.
Now, they continue their pilgrimage while carrying Peter’s portrait with them on their journey.
Choi pointed out that each tour spanning around 7,000 kilometers with Peter, who needed assistance to move, was risky. But it was a decision that they took together.
“Carrying his portrait and continuing the pilgrimage also means we don’t want to lose the resolve for martyrdom we first embraced,” says Choi.
A return to spiritual homeland
Choi believes that there are no specific or separate shrines in Korea.
“We make pilgrimages with the mindset that every place on our land is a shrine, whether it has been designated as such or not,” says Choi.
A driving force of continuing their journeys across the shrines since 2012 stems from the firm belief that “the shrine is our spiritual homeland,” says Kim.
“Just as people return to their hometowns during holidays, my wife and I consistently visit holy sites with the mindset that they are our spiritual home,” says Kim.
“No matter how diligently we practice our faith at church or at home, there are inevitably times of spiritual stagnation,” Kim warns.
“A pilgrimage during such times allows us to return filled with renewed spiritual energy,” Kim adds.
These visits are, however, not easy for Kim and Choi, who themselves suffer from health-related issues.
Kim, who was a private taxi driver, suffered a stroke in 2007. He has since maintained a lifestyle wherein he drives only in the mornings for work and rests in the afternoons due to poor health.
Choi has also long suffered from cerebral stenosis. This condition reduces blood flow to parts of the brain, increasing the risk of a stroke or a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a “mini-stroke.”
However, despite these risks and issues, the couple leaves home at 4:30 am and drives 1,000 km a day until 10.00 pm without feeling fatigue, they say.
“Though I hold the steering wheel, when starting a pilgrimage, I pray in my heart that God, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary are seated in the car with us,” Kim says.
“Even I, who have driven professionally, find it nothing short of a mystery,” Kim exclaims, recalling the extensive distances they have managed to travel despite their health conditions.
A gift to the souls in purgatory
Kim and Choi say visits to the pilgrimage sites are also an opportunity to help the souls in purgatory.
“Unfortunately, many faithful do not fully grasp how great a grace it is to be able to transfer a plenary indulgence to the poor souls in purgatory whom no one remembers,” they said.
In Catholicism, purgatory is an intermediate state or condition after physical death, where the souls of the penitent are purified from venial sins and made ready for heaven.
A plenary indulgence can be gained for the holy souls in purgatory during the first eight days of November.
It is done by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead during the days.
On All Souls’ Day (Nov 2) faithful are recommended to devoutly visit a church or oratory, recite the Our Father, and the Apostles’ Creed to gain a plenary indulgence.
To receive indulgence, one must also fulfill the standard requirements, such as a sacramental confession, holy communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father. A detachment from sin, even venial sin, is also required.
“The joy and grace of being able to transfer a plenary indulgence to a soul in purgatory even once more through a pilgrimage to a holy site is something that cannot be understood without experiencing it spiritually,” they said.
The couple said that they intend to continue the pilgrimages as long as their health permits.
“Our hope is to make pilgrimages together with our younger son, Paul Kim Byeong-cheol, who works in Japan, when he returns to Korea,” they said. – UCA News
*This is a translated and edited version of the feature that first appeared in the Catholic Times of Korea on Sept. 3, 2025.
