Saint Benedict Monastery

History & origins

The Benedictine community in Oryun-dong, Busan, began in the late 1960s as part of an effort to explore new possibilities for a Korean monastic community. A historical account in the Catholic Times states that a community centered on Korean monks was established at Oryun-dong in 1967. It formed part of Waegwan Abbey's attempt to deepen the inculturation and contemplative character of Benedictine monastic life in Korea.

A separate Catholic Times report from 1972 records that the retreat-house building at Oryun-dong was erected in 1969 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Benedictine presence in Korea. The two dates can therefore be distinguished: 1967 refers to the beginning of the Oryun-dong monastic community, while 1969 refers to the construction of the retreat-house building. They describe different events rather than conflicting dates.

The early plan to develop a distinct Korean monastic community changed when the abbey's organization was restructured in the early 1970s, and the Oryun-dong community continued as the Busan branch of Waegwan Abbey. A 1990 Catholic Times article described the site as one of the early retreat centers serving the Busan and Gyeongnam region, showing how monastic and retreat functions came to exist together there.

Today the Catholic Church directory in Korea lists the community as “Order of St. Benedict Waegwan Abbey — Busan House of Meditation.” The central thread of the site's history is that an initially experimental monastic community survived organizational change and became an established Busan branch through which Benedictine spirituality and retreat ministry continue.