Gaegum Church

History & origins

A distinct parish community in Gaegeum emerged through separation from the pastoral territories of the neighboring Gaya, Danggam, and Jurye parishes. Diocesan records state that the Gaegeum community was separated from those three parishes on December 27, 2011, while the Catholic directory gives January 6, 2012 as the parish's establishment date. The two records describe, respectively, the separation of the community and the formal diocesan establishment of the parish.

Once the new community was formed, securing a church of its own became a central task. Ground was broken for the new church on May 4, 2013, beginning construction of a building with one basement level and four above-ground floors for worship and parish activities. Representatives and parishioners from Gaya, Danggam, and Jurye, the communities from which Gaegeum had emerged, took part in the ceremony, showing the new parish's connection with its neighboring communities.

The completed church was dedicated on May 17, 2014, in a liturgy presided over by Bishop Hwang Cheol-su. The sequence from separation to parish establishment, construction, and dedication marked the process by which Catholics in Gaegeum gained an independent pastoral community and liturgical home. The new church then provided a stable base for the parish's continuing life.