Busan Catholic Church

History & origins

The Catholic history of the site on which Busan Family Church now stands reaches back to the late nineteenth century. Fr. Jozeau, sent to the Gyeongsangnam-do region in 1890, initially worked from the Jonaegi mission station on Yeongdo and later secured a church site in Choryang, Busan. After Fr. Demange arrived in 1899, he advanced the relocation plan, and in October of that year a Japanese-style wooden church was completed on the present Busan Family Church site and named “Busan Catholic Church.” It became an important base for the early Catholic mission in the Busan area.

From 1901, the expansion of the Japanese settlement and construction of the Gyeongbu railway affected part of the church property, raising the question of another move. After preparations by several missionaries, Busan Catholic Church moved to Beomil-dong in May 1916, where a new church was built and the parish was renamed “Busanjin Catholic Church.” The old Choryang site then lost its original church function for many decades, while the memory of the Diocese of Busan’s first church remained.

The Diocese of Busan later decided to unite the history of this site with a contemporary ministry for families and began construction of a family church in 2016. The completed Busan Family Church was dedicated on August 19, 2018. More than a century after the former Busan Catholic Church had moved away, the same ground again began to serve as a diocesan Catholic space, now focused on wedding Masses and family ministry.

In 2020, the “Uno” historical gallery was opened inside the church. With a bust of Fr. Jozeau and photographs related to the former Busan Catholic Church, the gallery allows visitors to see directly that this is not simply a newly built church specialized for weddings, but also a place carrying forward the memory of the early Catholic mission in Busan.