Namcheon Cathedral

Overview

Namcheon Church is the cathedral church of the Catholic Diocese of Busan in Namcheon-dong, Suyeong-gu, Busan Metropolitan City, and was established as a parish on June 8, 1979. Its patron is St. Paul Jeong Ha-sang. It held the dedication ceremony of its large church building on May 31, 1992, and at that time inherited the representation and role of the Busan diocesan cathedral from Jungang Church.

History

[Background of foundation] According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, Namcheon-dong was formed as large-scale apartments for more than 3 thousand households were built on 6,500-odd pyeong of reclaimed coastal land below Hwangnyeong Mountain, and in the mid-1970s it became the center of Nam-gu as the Nam-gu Office and affiliated organizations, the Southern Education Office, and the KBS station were newly established. As residents and the faithful surged together, the Diocese of Busan confirmed the establishment of a parish on June 8, 1979, and founded Namcheon Parish with some of the faithful from Gwangan Parish and Daeyeon Parish and faithful who had moved from other regions. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia also writes that in the late-1970s large apartments were built on the reclaimed coastal land in Namcheon-dong so the population surged, and as the Nam-gu Office, the South Busan Tax Office, and the court registry moved in, Namcheon-dong became the center of Nam-gu, and Namcheon Church was founded midway between Daeyeon Church and Gwangan Church.

[Temporary church period] Because economic conditions made it difficult to build a new church building, it first served as the Teresa Hospital building and then temporarily used a building then in use as the Catholic Education Center of the Diocese of Busan (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism). The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia writes that the temporary building of Teresa Hospital was remodeled and used as a church, and although the interior was cramped, the faithful united to maintain the interior facilities and cultivate a church atmosphere. The first parish priest, Father Je Chan-gyu (Simeon), remodeled part of the hospital building and maintained the interior facilities while setting the pastoral guideline as the ‘One Family Movement’ (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism). The temporary church had an actual usable area of 200-odd pyeong with a maximum capacity of about 800 persons, so when the faithful exceeded 2,000 in the 1980s, it could not accommodate them all. In July 1979 a branch house of the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters was dispatched, and the following year the pastoral council was organized.

[Construction of the church building] Father Sin Sang-do (Augustine), the 2 parish priest, organized a church-building committee in February 1985 and began preparations, and in September of the same year Father Jeong Myeong-jo (Augustine), the 3 parish priest, took office so construction proceeded in earnest, with the groundbreaking held on December 4, 1988 (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism). Father Jeong Myeong-jo left the parish upon being appointed bishop of the Military Diocese effective October 23, 1989, and Father Lee Yeong-sik (Hyginus), the 4 parish priest, took office and completed it by raising church-building funds and holding bazaars. The dedication was celebrated on May 31, 1992, presided over by Bishop Lee Gap-su. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia writes that in 1988 a church-building committee was formed and planned a large church building on a site of 1 ten thousand 1200 square meters with a building area of 2,072 square meters and a total floor area of 4,460 square meters, and after efforts including fund-raising and bazaars by the faithful, the dedication of the large church building was held on May 31, 1992. The total construction cost reached 50 hundred million won (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism).

[Cathedral church] According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, Namcheon Parish inherited the representation and role of the cathedral from Jungang Church, which had served as the Busan diocesan cathedral for 35 years, together with the completion of the church. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia writes that when the large church building was completed it became the cathedral church of the Diocese of Busan, and large events including the diocesan priestly ordinations are held at Namcheon Church. In 1995, the glass ceiling covering the church was completed in stained glass (Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).

[Parish activities] According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, the devotional groups founded in the early days were named after Korean holy places in order to honor the lives of the Korean martyr saints, Angel Kindergarten was opened in April 1981, and in 1984 a civic concert to help ex-convicts was held. From 1994, as part of revitalizing neighborhood communities, a men’s faithful community was formed and meets 1 times a month, and Huindol Senior College was opened. Every year in July and August, cleaning around Gwangalli Beach was done daily from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., and in the month of evangelization, street evangelization was conducted with guide booklets produced by the parish for hikers on Hwangnyeong Mountain. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia writes that Huindol College (senior ministry), conducted for over 20 years, is recognized as a model for other parishes, and the Silver Choir was founded.

[Church statistics and present condition] The church statistics in the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism are 582 persons in 1979, 3,226 persons in 1984, 4,465 persons in 1987, 5,440 persons in 1991, and 6,407 persons in 1993, and the jurisdiction at that time was parts of Namcheon 1 and 2-dong, Daeyeon 3-dong, and Gwangan 2 and 4-dong. According to the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, as of 2013 the number of faithful was 1 ten thousand 1999 persons, the site area was about 1 ten thousand 1200 square meters, and the building area including the cathedral, kindergarten, rectory, and convent was about 2 ten thousand 7944 square meters. The same source evaluates that although Namcheon Church does not have a long history, it serves as the center of the diocese as a cathedral church through the construction of the large church building and the relocation of the Busan diocesan office.

Architecture and Space

According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, the church has a site of 3,327 pyeong and a total floor area of 2,191 pyeong, with various meeting rooms on 1 basement floor, a small chapel, hall, and catechesis rooms on 1 ground floor, the large church building on the 2 floor, choir and general seating in the mezzanine, and a Meeting Plaza of about 120 pyeong with a statue of Mary. The ‘Creation of Heaven and Earth’ and ‘History of Salvation’ in stained glass by Father Jo Gwang-ho (Eligio), the statue of Madonna and Child by Won Seong-deuk, the outdoor and indoor Stations of the Cross, and the statue of the patron St. Paul Jeong Ha-sang are works by professional artists. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia writes that the church with 3,000 seats was said at the time to be the largest in the country.

Related Places and People

• Jungang Church: it served as the Busan diocesan cathedral for 35 years until the completion of Namcheon Church (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism).
• Gwangan Parish and Daeyeon Parish: parishes some of whose faithful joined in founding Namcheon Parish (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism).
• Father Jeong Myeong-jo (Augustine): as the 3 parish priest he held the groundbreaking of the church on December 4, 1988, and was appointed bishop of the Military Diocese effective October 23, 1989 (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism).
• Father Jo Gwang-ho (Eligio): he produced the stained glass ‘Creation of Heaven and Earth’ and ‘History of Salvation’ in the church (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism).
• Past parish priests (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, based on the account in 1993): first Je Chan-gyu Simeon (1979.6–1983.2), 2 Sin Sang-do Augustine (1983.2–1985.9), 3 Jeong Myeong-jo Augustine (1985.9–1990.1), interim Choe Yeong-cheol Aloysius (1990.1–2), 4 Lee Yeong-sik Hyginus (1990.2–).

References and Sources

1. Academy of Korean Studies, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia “Namcheon Church”. Background of foundation (1979.6.8.), temporary church, dedication of the large church (1992.5.31.), stained glass (1995), cathedral church, status in 2013.
   https://www.grandculture.net/busan/toc/GC04210747
2. Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, “Namcheon Parish” (2 volume). Foundation and development, church-building process, spatial composition and artworks, transfer of the cathedral, parish activities, church statistics and list of past parish priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1054