Namsan Catholic Church

Overview

Namsan Church is a church in Namsan-dong, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, belonging to the Diocese of Busan. It was separated from Geumjeong Parish and established in 1988, and its patron is recorded as Our Lady of the Rosary in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and as Our Lady of the Rosary in the directory.

History

[Establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Namsan Parish was the first parish divided from Geumjeong Parish when Geumjeong Parish marked its 15 anniversary in 1988, as the number of faithful surged with the construction of apartment complexes around Jangjeon-dong in Geumjeong-gu. The encyclopedia states that it was separated and established from Geumjeong Parish on July 1, 1988, while the directory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea records the date of establishment as July 11, 1988. From the time of its foundation, a branch house of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was established.

[Construction of the Church] The encyclopedia states that the faithful of Namsan Parish celebrated Mass at Geumjeong Parish and in a temporary hall while pressing ahead with the construction of a new church. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 4, 1989, and on November 1991 a church was completed on a site of 480 pyeong with a total floor area of 675 pyeong—with catechetical rooms on the 1 underground floor, the rectory, convent and offices on the 1 above-ground floor, and the church on the 2 floor—and the blessing ceremony was held.

[Pastoral Activities] According to the encyclopedia, from 1992, when construction had been completed, the parish developed various formation programs and events to strengthen its interior life. For the re-education of the faithful, it invited outside lecturers to hold faith lectures during Advent and Lent, and, centered on the parish social welfare section, it continuously helped disadvantaged families until they became self-reliant. Every year on October it held a Parish Day event, and most of the faithful are said to have been either faithful newly settled in the apartments or newly baptized persons. In 1995, starting with the inauguration of a street evangelization team, it devoted itself to evangelization and planned to expand and remodel a 2-story ordinary house that had been used as a Legion meeting room into a formal education center, and in 1996 it was also preparing the division of Ungsang Catholic mission chapel, the only mission chapel of Namsan Parish, whose number of faithful reached more than 1,000.

[Church Statistics and Jurisdiction] The encyclopedia gives the parish address at that time as 993-9 Namsan-dong, Geumjeong-gu, its jurisdiction as Guseo 2-dong, Namsan-dong, Cheongnyong-dong and Dugu-dong, its mission chapels as 1 (Ungsang), and its statistics as in 1989 with 1,600 faithful, in 1991 with 2,752 faithful, and in 1993 with 5,299 faithful. The directory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea lists the parish as belonging to the Geumjeong District, its affiliated congregation as the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the number of mission chapels as 0.

[Past Parish Priests] The past parish priests recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first pastor John Jang Byeong-ryong (1988.7–1990.2), the 2 pastor Joseph Yi Byeong-man (1990.2–1991.2), the 3 pastor Andrew Im Yeong-min (1991.2–1992.2), the 4 pastor Aloysius Choe Yeong-cheol (1992.2–1993.2), and the 5 pastor Andrew Park Yu-sik (1993.2–the time of compilation of the encyclopedia). The directory lists the parish priest as Father Matthew Park Seong-tae.

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 4, 1989 and completion was achieved on November 1991 on a site of 480 pyeong with a total floor area of 675 pyeong. The 1 underground floor houses catechetical rooms, the 1 above-ground floor houses the rectory, convent and offices, and the 2 floor is the church.

Related Places and People

• Geumjeong Parish: The mother parish from which Namsan Parish was separated and established. It was the first parish divided when Geumjeong Parish marked its 15 anniversary in 1988 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Ungsang Catholic mission chapel: The only mission chapel under Namsan Parish, with more than 1,000 faithful, whose division was being prepared in 1996 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Namsan Parish” (Vol. 2), entry for the Diocese of Busan. Background of establishment, parish establishment in 1988, church completion in 1991, pastoral activities, statistics, jurisdiction, past priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1038
2. Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory, “Namsan” (Diocese of Busan). Date of establishment, patron, district, congregation, number of faithful, number of mission chapels. Directory entry: date of establishment 1988.7.11, patron Our Lady of the Rosary, Geumjeong District.
   http://directory.cbck.or.kr/m/catholicInfo.asp?code=201001376&gubun=4