Oncheon Church

Overview

Oncheon Church is a church in Oncheon-dong, Dongnae-gu, Busan Metropolitan City, belonging to the Diocese of Busan, and was established on May 29, 1958, separated from Dongnae Parish. At the time of its establishment it was called Oncheonjang Parish, and its patron saint is Saint Therese of the Child Jesus.

History

[Parish establishment] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia explains that preparations for establishing a parish in Oncheon-dong took concrete shape through Father Yun Ye-won, who was appointed in July 1957 as spiritual director of the Carmelite convent in Bugok-dong, Dongnae-gu. Father Yun Ye-won judged that a separate church was needed for the faithful scattered in the Oncheon-dong area under the jurisdiction of Dongnae Parish, and sold part of the relief goods paid to the Bugok-dong area by the Catholic relief organization to purchase the temple at lot 240 in Oncheon-dong. The following May, Oncheon Parish was established and Father Yun Ye-won was appointed as the first pastor. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia also records that Oncheon Church, separated from Dongnae Church on May 29, 1958, was established and Father Yun Ye-won (Thomas) was appointed as the first pastor. The timing of the temple purchase is described differently by each source, with the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia stating that Father Yun Ye-won purchased a Japanese-owned temple in April 1959, renovated it and used it as a church. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that Father Yun renovated the purchased temple, used it as a temporary church, and was then transferred.

[Church building and religious orders] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 2 pastor, Father Park Dong-jun, organized various groups and founded the Oncheonjang Credit Cooperative, and as the temporary church was narrow, construction began in August 1964 and a 3-story church (343 pyeong) was completed in April 1966. In March 1966, a branch of the Inbo Eucharistic Sisters was established and Teresa Kindergarten was opened, but in August, when the Inbo Eucharistic Sisters who had helped run the kindergarten withdrew, a branch of the Busan Sisters of St. Benedict was established. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia states that a modern church was completed in April 1966, kindergarten authorization was received, and a convent was also built. The 3 pastor, Father Kim Gyeong-u, newly established a district-leader system and founded the parish bulletin.

[Spin-offs and development] During the tenure of the 8 pastor, Father Ahn Dal-won, Dongsang-dong (now Seodong) Parish was separated in November 1973, and Geumjeong Parish was separated in November of the following year (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The 9 pastor, Father Kim Nam-su, regularly held community meditation meetings and Holy Spirit seminars, and carried out a Bible-reading campaign and a tithe-offering campaign. The 10 pastor, Father Son Deok-man, completed in August 1981 a 3-story building (203 pyeong) for use as a hall, catechism classrooms and convent and held its blessing ceremony, formed a committee to promote the construction of Bugok Parish, and purchased a site of 291 pyeong in February 1984. The 12 pastor, Father Park Yu-sik, purchased 1,749 pyeong of land adjacent to the church in April 1987 and 180 pyeong of land on the church-entrance side in May of the following year, and when Bugok Church was separated in July 1988, transferred the parish registers of 540 households and 1,316 persons. The 13 pastor, Father Jeong Hwan-guk, began computerizing the parish registers and additionally transferred the registers of 491 households and 1,536 persons in 1989 to Bugok Parish, prepared the free meal center Sohwa House in May 1993, and installed a mobile library at the nearby Gwanghye Hospital in May 1994. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia states that Seodong Church, Geumjeong Church and Ungsang Church were separated from Oncheon Church.

[Expansion and renovation] The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia states that the church was expanded and renovated in July 1997. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the 14 pastor, Father Park Seung-won, purchased a nearby 2-story building (60 pyeong) in August 1995 for use as a rectory, raised funds in June 1997 to rebuild the old church and then began construction, fully repaired the roof in October, and from July has used a nearby 4-story building (133 pyeong) donated by Park Sun-ho (Francis) as catechism classrooms and a convent. The 15 pastor, Father Lee Ok-gun, carried out pastoral activities such as pilgrimages to holy places and street-evangelization groups, and purchased land of 98 pyeong at lots 241-4-5 in Oncheon 1-dong in August 2001 for the construction of an education hall.

[Church strength and present state] Church strength was 471 persons in 1958, 1,178 persons in 1961, 1,200 persons in 1964, 3,172 persons in 1974, 5,186 persons in 1983, 5,897 persons in 1989, 5,662 persons in 1993, and 5,443 persons in 2000 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia evaluates that Oncheon Church, together with Dongnae Church, led regional evangelization in Dongnae-gu in the 1970s-80s, slowed somewhat in the 1990s, but became active again in the 2000s, and states that it operates the free meal center Sohwa House and the senior college Sohwa College. As of 2013, the number of faithful is 6,415, the land area is 2,960 sq m, the building area is 2,420 sq m, and the main buildings are the church, the rectory and the convent.

Related places and people

• Jurisdiction (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia): the entire area of Oncheon 1 and 2-dong, Myeongnyun 2-dong, Jangjeon 2 and 3-dong, and part of Geumseong-dong.
• Dongnae Parish: the parish from which Oncheon Parish was separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Seodong Church (former Dongsang-dong), Geumjeong Church, Bugok Church, Ungsang Church: parishes separated from Oncheon Church (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Father Yun Ye-won (Thomas): the first pastor who, appointed as spiritual director of the Carmelite convent, prepared the establishment of Oncheon Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Successive pastors (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, based on the account of 2000): first Yun Ye-won (Thomas), 2 Park Dong-jun (Matthias), 3 Kim Gyeong-u (Alexius), 4 Lee Cheol-u (Paul), 5 Baek Eung-bok (Stephen), 6 Byeon Chang-ji (Matthew), 7 Lee Hong-gi (John), 8 Ahn Dal-won (Peter), 9 Kim Nam-su (Luke), 10 Son Deok-man (Thomas), 11 Hong Hyeong-pyo (Ambrose), 12 Park Yu-sik (Andrew), 13 Jeong Hwan-guk (Aloysius), 14 Park Seung-won (Nicomedes), 15 Lee Ok-gun (Thaddeus).

References and sources

1. Academy of Korean Studies, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia “Oncheon Church”. Parish establishment (1958.5.29.), church completion (1966), expansion and renovation (1997), spin-offs, status in 2013.
   https://www.grandculture.net/busan/toc/GC04215972
2. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Oncheon Parish” (vol. 9). Establishment process, church building, spin-offs, successive priests, church-strength statistics, rebuilding.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4657