Sujeong Catholic Church

History & origins

The origins of Sujeong Parish are connected with the division of Busanjin Parish, one of the oldest centers of Catholic life in Busan. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia’s history of Beomil Parish, Busanjin Parish successively separated Gupo Parish in 1958, Seomyeon Parish in 1960, and Daeyeon Parish in 1961, and then separated Sujeong Parish on July 17, 1962. This was part of a broader effort to strengthen local pastoral care by dividing large parish territories as Busan’s Catholic population and urban area expanded.

The separation of Sujeong took place just after the Apostolic Vicariate of Busan became the Diocese of Busan with the establishment of the Korean hierarchy in 1962. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that numerous parishes were established across Busan and eastern Gyeongsangnam-do between 1962 and 1966, and identifies Sujeong as one of the parishes created during this period of growth. Its foundation can therefore be understood not only as the independence of one local community, but also as part of the rapid structural development of the diocese as a whole.

Reliable official sources found in this review did not provide enough detail to establish the chronology of the parish’s first temporary church or the construction date of the present building. The securely documented historical outline is therefore that Sujeong became an independent parish after separation from Busanjin in 1962 and has continued into the present as a parish of the Diocese of Busan’s Jungang District.