Haeundae Catholic Church

Overview

Haeundae Church is a church in Jung-dong, Haeundae-gu, Busan, belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Busan, and was established on January 12, 1963, when the Haeundae Catholic mission chapel was elevated to a parish. Its patron is the Apostle Paul. It is known as a modernist church building designed by German-born Benedictine Father Albin, and its first pastor was Father Kim Yu-jae (Gregory).

History

[Mission-chapel period] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the first Mass in the Haeundae area was offered on November 8, 1959. At that time, Father Jeong Su-gil (Joseph), the 3 pastor of Suyeong (now Gwangan) Parish, rented the Hosu tearoom at 139 Jung-dong to offer Mass and discussed founding a mission chapel in order to vitalize the local faith community. In March 1960, land at 563-2 in U-1-dong was purchased and the Haeundae Catholic mission chapel was established on April 15 of the following year, and not only Haeundae Catholics but also Catholics from the Gijang area came to attend Mass and catechism. In February 1962, the mission chapel became a mission chapel directly under the Busan diocesan chancery and began preparing for elevation to a parish. Father Je Chan-gyu (Simeon), the diocesan finance officer, took charge of ministry from June and built a 29-pyeong church on the present parish site, and from October the new finance officer, Father Lee Yeong-sik, took charge of the mission chapel and completed a church at 1369 Jung-dong (this building was later used as a kindergarten building). The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia states that after the 6·25 War the population and tourists increased so that establishment of a parish was requested, that in 1959 a mission chapel under Suyeong Church was founded, and that Catholics from the Songjeong and Gijang areas also came to the mission-chapel services.

[Establishment as a parish] Bishop Choe Jae-seon (John), the first bishop of Busan, elevated the Haeundae Catholic mission chapel to a parish on January 12, 1963, and appointed Father Kim Yu-jae as its first pastor (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia). Immediately after taking office, Father Kim began building a new rectory (58 pyeong, 2 stories), completing it in November, and for a branch of the Sisters of the Korean Martyrs built a convent (25 pyeong) the following year, holding a blessing ceremony in October officiated by Auxiliary Bishop Jang Byeong-hwa (Joseph) (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

[Construction of the new church] According to the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, at the time of the parish establishment the existing mission-chapel building was used as the church, but as Catholics increased and it became cramped, Father Kim Yu-jae and the parishioners resolved to build a new church and commissioned Father Albin of the Benedictine Order for the design, and held a dedication ceremony for the new church on May 29, 1965, officiated by Bishop Choe Jae-seon. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that after a groundbreaking ceremony for the new church in August 1963, a blessing ceremony was held on May 29, 1966, officiated by Bishop Choe Jae-seon, so the year differs by source. The same encyclopedia states that Father Kim founded Haeseong Kindergarten, the first early-childhood institution in the Haeundae area, in March 1966. The church-building entry (Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia) gives the construction date as September 26, 1964.

[Gijang mission chapel and separations] The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia states that a Gijang mission chapel was founded for Gijang-area Catholics in September 1965 and was elevated to a parish in 1975 and separated, while the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that Father Lee Yeong-sik, the 5 pastor, elevated the Gijang mission chapel to a parish on September 26, 1975, shortly after taking office. With the construction of Haeundae New Town in the 1990s, U-dong, Jwa-dong, Holy Family, and Dalmaji churches were separated from Haeundae Church (Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia). The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that Father Yeom Bong-deok, the 7 pastor, purchased a new site in Jwa-dong in 1990 (500 pyeong) and that Jwa-dong Parish was established in February 1997, and that Father Kim Du-wan, the 8 pastor, purchased a site in U-dong, offered a Mass for the blessing of the site in September 1993, and that U-dong Parish was established and separated in February 1997.

[Ministry of successive pastors] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Father Kim Jun-pil, the 2 pastor, organized the Legion of Mary and the Association for the Deceased and expanded the kindergarten, and Father Yu Chang-ho, the 3 pastor, brought back to the church most of the lapsed Catholics, who had exceeded 50%, and enlarged the parish grounds and took interest in landscaping. Father Jeong Jae-seok, the 4 pastor, subdivided the pastoral council so that section activities were carried out as a focus, and Father Lee Yeong-sik, the 5 pastor, founded a Sunday school and created a Marian grotto in May 1977 and installed a statue of the Virgin Mary. Father Baek Eung-bok, the 6 pastor, ministered for over 10 years, building a new rectory (44 pyeong) in 1981 and producing a parish flag the following year, and increasing praesidia to 60 by 1988. Father Kim Du-wan, the 8 pastor, rebuilt the kindergarten in 1993, the 30th anniversary of the parish establishment, and opened a parish pastoral psychology counseling room the following year. Father Kwon Ji-ho, the 9 pastor, began operating the Haeundae-gu Volunteer Center in July 1998 at the district office request; this institution grew out of the ‘Haeseong Association,’ which had carried out social-welfare activities since 1964, and was directly prompted by the parish beach cleaning at Haeundae Beach begun in the summer of 1993. Father Yun Gyeong-cheol, the 10 pastor, opened a school for the elderly in May 2002.

[Church statistics and present condition] The church statistics in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 335 in 1963, 798 in 1968, 999 in 1972, 1,780 in 1977, 2,842 in 1982, 4,004 in 1987, 6,407 in 1993, 5,118 in 1999, 5,391 in 2003, and the jurisdiction covered all of Jung-1-dong and Jung-2-dong and part of U-1-dong. According to the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, a dedication ceremony for the education hall was held on December 25, 2008, and the sanctuary was remodeled, and as of 2013, the number of parishioners was 4,393, with groups such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the Marian Association, the altar society, and the youth group. The site is about 3,861㎡, and the building area of the church, education hall, rectory, and convent is about 4,097㎡. The same source evaluates that this church, as the mother parish of the Haeundae area, played a midwife role for newly established parishes and led evangelization in the tourist area.

Architecture and Space

According to the architecture entry of the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, the Haeundae Church building is a modernist reinforced-concrete building designed by Father Albin, a German-born painter and architect. It has a site area of 3,686㎡ and a total floor area of 674.65㎡, with 2 above-ground stories, consisting of a flat roof and a bell tower. The exterior combines 4 large and small masses, and the vertical bell tower and vertical window elements stand side by side, achieving a modest balance. The interior has a polygonal plan with simplified forms and materials, and wooden louvers for acoustic control are installed on the ceiling. Compared with the Sangju Namseong-dong Church and Uirim-dong Church designed by Father Albin in the same period, the plan is based on a cruciform shape, embodying the ‘Body of Christ’ in the plan, and the seemingly rugged exterior is explained as resulting from translating the cruciform plan into a 3-dimensional space.

Since construction the original form has been maintained, with interior repairs and exterior paint-finish maintenance added. The owner is the Catholic Diocese of Busan Foundation, and the manager is Haeundae Catholic Church. The same source evaluates that the building is a representative church building in the Busan area with the modernist architectural style of the 1960s, is well preserved, and greatly influenced Catholic church architecture in Busan.

Related Places and Figures

• Suyeong (now Gwangan) Parish: the parish under whose jurisdiction the Haeundae mission chapel stood (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Gijang Parish (elevated in 1975), Jwa-dong, U-dong, Holy Family, and Dalmaji churches: parishes separated or divided from Haeundae Church (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Father Albin: a German-born Benedictine priest and architect who designed Haeundae Church. He also designed Sangju Namseong-dong Church and Uirim-dong Church in the same period (Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Father Kim Yu-jae (Gregory): the first pastor of Haeundae Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Successive pastors (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, as described in 2003): 1st Kim Yu-jae Gregory (1963.2–1969.4), 2 Kim Jun-pil Augustine (1969.4–1971.10), 3 Yu Chang-ho Thomas (1971.10–1972.11), 4 Jeong Jae-seok Joseph (1972.11–1975.9), 5 Lee Yeong-sik Hyginus (1975.9–1978.1), 6 Baek Eung-bok Stephen (1978.1–1989.1), 7 Yeom Bong-deok Francis Xavier (1989.1–1991.2), 8 Kim Du-wan Augustine (1991.2–1997.2), 9 Kwon Ji-ho Francis (1997.2–2000.1), 10 Yun Gyeong-cheol Paul (2000.1–2002.12), 11 Sim Sun-bo Stephen (2002.12–).

References and Sources

1. Academy of Korean Studies, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia “Haeundae Church” (institution entry). Founding of the mission chapel and elevation to parish (1963.1.12.), dedication ceremony of the new church (1965.5.29.), Gijang mission chapel and separation, education-hall dedication in 2008, status in 2013.
   https://www.grandculture.net/busan/toc/GC04215977
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia “Haeundae Church” (architecture entry). Design by Father Albin, modernist style, scale and plan composition, evaluation.
   https://www.grandculture.net/busan/toc/GC04202634
3. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Haeundae Parish” (Volume 12). Mission period and mission-chapel era, parish establishment, church construction, ministry of successive pastors, separated parishes, church statistics and list of successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/6854