Kkotbawi Catholic Church

History & origins

Kkotbawi parish was established in January 2006 after being separated from Bangeojin Parish. The Catholic Directory in Korea gives the official establishment date as January 10, 2006, and records St. Peter as the patron saint. Soon after the new parish was created, it began working toward the construction of its own church, with support from its mother parish of Bangeojin, the diocese, and Catholics in the Ulsan area.

The new church was dedicated on March 30, 2008, in a ceremony presided over by Bishop Paul Hwang Cheol-soo. The Catholic Peace Newspaper reported a site area of 2,673 square meters and a building with one basement level, three floors above ground, and 1,751 square meters of total floor area. The design took the sunrise over Ulsan's local "Kkotbawi" rock as a major motif: the curved church body and rounded roof evoked the sea and the sun, while the bell tower drew on the form of the Bangeojin lighthouse.

From the time of construction, the exterior emphasized openness rather than enclosure. Natural-stone landscaping and tree fencing were used instead of a concrete wall, and the southern part of the site was left with room for rest areas and parking. Parishioners also took part directly in arranging the Marian garden and fencing. The formation of Kkotbawi Catholic Church can thus be summarized as a rapid sequence from the new parish's establishment in 2006 to the dedication of its church in 2008, with the coastal landscape and an openness toward the neighborhood incorporated into the architecture itself.