Geumjeong Catholic Church

Overview

Geumjeong Church is a church in Geumjeong-gu, Busan Metropolitan City, belonging to the Diocese of Busan. It was established in 1974 after separating from Oncheon Parish, and its patron is St. Paul. The Diocese of Busan entrusted its pastoral care to the Missionary Society of St. Columban.

History

[Background of establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Ahn Dal-won (Peter) of Oncheon Parish expected that the number of the faithful would grow once large apartment complexes were built in the parish jurisdiction and nearby areas, and proposed the establishment of a new parish to the diocese. After purchasing 389 pyeong of land for the present church site, the Diocese of Busan entrusted pastoral care to the Missionary Society of St. Columban.

[Establishment of the parish and the first church] The encyclopedia states that construction of a new church began at the present parish site on October 1974, that it was established as Geumjeong Parish on November of the same year, and that in the following year, on May 4, a church with a size of 80 pyeong was completed and dedicated (the encyclopedia entry states that it was separated and established from Oncheon Parish on November 7, 1974, while the directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea gives the establishment date as October 1, 1974). At the time of establishment, the faithful lived scattered in about 40~50 households in areas such as Jangjeon 1-dong and Bugok 2-dong, bounded by the new main gate of Busan National University, as well as in Guseo-dong, Cheongryong-dong, Dugu-dong, and in Dumyeong-ri, Jeonggwan-myeon, Yangsan-gun, which was a Catholic mission chapel, and as most of these areas were farmland, transportation was very inconvenient. As the parish was located in a relatively remote area north of Busan National University, many of the faithful had to walk about 30 minutes to attend Mass, and faithful with children often attended Dongnae Parish or Oncheon Parish nearby.

[Expansion of the church building] According to the encyclopedia, as the City of Busan developed the Jangjeon-dong area into an apartment complex, the number of the faithful surged so that the existing church could no longer accommodate all of them. Through a fundraising campaign by the faithful and funds from the Missionary Society of St. Columban, construction began from April 1980 and a new church with a site of 389 pyeong and a floor area of 295 pyeong was completed on February 14, 1982, and on November 1984 a rectory and a convent were also built.

[Pastoral activities] The encyclopedia states that Geumjeong Parish steadily promoted the fostering of basic communities, the sanctification of families, the re-education of the faithful and devotional activities, and campaigns to help neighbors in need. From 1986 onward, on Peace Day (January 1) parishioners visited children in poor villages to deliver gifts, and at Christmas invited elderly people aged 60 and older within the parish district to a feast for the aged. On September 5, 1993, it opened a college for the elderly, the fourth in the Diocese of Busan, and to mark the 20th anniversary of the parish foundation, on June 29, 1994 it invited former parish priests and sisters and parish pastoral council chairpersons and held a commemorative Mass and ceremony.

[Church strength and jurisdiction] The encyclopedia gives the parish address as 213-5, Jangjeon 1-dong, Geumjeong-gu, the jurisdiction as Guseo 1-dong, Oryun-dong, Jangjeon 1~3-dong, and Bugok 2~3-dong, and the church strength as 530 faithful in 1975, 1,438 faithful in 1980, 3,334 faithful in 1984, and 5,154 faithful in 1993. The directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists the present parish as belonging to the Geumjeong District, the affiliated congregation as the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the number of the faithful as 7,032, and the number of Catholic mission chapels as 0, and states that the parish priest also serves as the head of the Geumjeong District.

[Former parish priests] The former priests listed in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first pastor Murray (Aidan Murray, Ham) Yedan (1974.11~1978.3), the 2 pastor Sweeney (Robert Peter Sweeney, Seo) Roberto (1978.3~1980.4), the 3 pastor Dunne (Patrick Gerard Dunne, Son) Gerardo (1980.4~1984.2), the 4 pastor Moses Kim Seong-do (1984.2~1988.2), the 5 pastor John Jang Byeong-ryong (1988.2~1990.2), the 6 pastor Joseph Lee Byeong-man (1990.2~1992.2), the 7 pastor Aloysius Choi Yeong-cheol (1992.2~1994.2), and the 8 pastor John Bae Sang-seop (from 1994.2 to the time of writing of the encyclopedia).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, on a site of 389 pyeong, new construction began on October 1974 and a church with a size of 80 pyeong was completed and dedicated on May 4, 1975, and through construction begun on April 1980, a new church with a site of 389 pyeong and a floor area of 295 pyeong was completed on February 14, 1982, while on November 1984 a rectory and a convent were built.

Related Places and People

• Oncheon Parish: the parish from which Geumjeong Parish was separated. Father Ahn Dal-won of Oncheon Parish proposed the establishment of a new parish to the diocese (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Missionary Society of St. Columban: the missionary society to which the Diocese of Busan entrusted the pastoral care of Geumjeong Parish; the encyclopedia states that the construction of the new church was carried out on the basis of fundraising by the faithful and funds from this society.
• Namsan Parish: the parish that Geumjeong Parish first divided off in 1988, when it reached the 15th anniversary of its establishment as a parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Namsan Parish”).

References and Sources

1. Korean Church History Research Institute, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Geumjeong Parish” (Volume 2). Background of establishment, completion of the first church and the new church in 1982, pastoral activities, church strength, jurisdiction, and former priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/799
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Catholic Directory of Korea, “Geumjeong” (Diocese of Busan). Establishment date, patron, district, congregation, number of faithful, number of Catholic mission chapels. Directory entry gives establishment date 1974.10.1, patron St. Paul the Apostle, Geumjeong District, and 7,032 faithful.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201001370&gubun=4