Yongho Church

Overview

Yongho Church is a church in Yongho-dong, Nam-gu, Busan Metropolitan City, belonging to the Diocese of Busan, and was separated and established from Daeyeon Parish on December 3, 1978. Its patron (titular) is the Virgin Mary, Queen, and Father Kang Dae-sik (Dionysio, Denis Kearney) of the Missionary Society of St. Columban served as its first pastor. It began as a Catholic mission chapel of displaced faithful who had moved to Yongho-dong under the urban planning of 1972.

History

[Mission Chapel Period] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the demolition of shanties under the urban planning of the City of Busan in 1972 led some residents of Daesin-dong, Yeongju-dong and Jwacheon-dong to settle in Yongho-dong under the jurisdiction of Daeyeon Parish, and the number of faithful in this area at the time was over 40. The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia writes that the displaced migrants were residents of Daesin-dong, Yeongju-dong and Bosu-dong, and explains that the faithful among them had to travel to Daeyeon Church, but the distance was great and, as the number of faithful grew, they rented the Handok Kindergarten building in Yongho-dong and used it as a temporary Catholic mission chapel. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that Father Trauner (Ha), the 3 pastor of Donghang Parish, leased the kindergarten building and established the Yongho-dong Catholic mission chapel in October 1974. The faithful of the mission chapel formed the ‘Church Construction Preparatory Committee’ in December 1976 and purchased a church site in November 1977. As for the size of the site, the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives 300 pyeong, while the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia records about 1,000 m² purchased by the Diocese of Busan on November 10, 1977.

[Establishment of the Parish and the First Church] In July 1978, Father Kang Dae-sik of the Columban Society took up his post at the mission chapel (the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia gives July 10). With donations from the faithful of the mission chapel and subsidies from the Missionary Society of St. Columban, Father Kang began construction of the church in August 1978 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The sources differ on the completion date: the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia gives November 30, while the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records the completion and dedication ceremony of a single-story church (145 pyeong) on December 8. Both sources record that Yongho Parish was established on December 3, 1978, and Father Kang Dae-sik was appointed as its first pastor. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, upon taking office Father Kang formed a pastoral council so that the faithful could act on their own initiative in the parish, and subdivided the jurisdiction into 11 districts.

[Growth] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, a branch convent of the Inbo Eucharistic Sisters was opened in March 1979, and a convent (16 pyeong) was newly built in September. As the number of faithful grew, a church expansion committee was formed in August 1980, construction began in October of the following year, and a 3-story church (180 pyeong) was completed and dedicated in May 1982 (the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia records it as the dedication ceremony of the expanded church on May 20, 1982). The 2 pastor, Father Joseph Ruth (J.W. Ruth, Jo), returned home due to illness, and the 3 pastor, Father Joseph Hwang Tae-ung, organized parish groups and worked to revitalize the life of faith through various educational programs. According to the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, when it was transferred from the Columban Society to the Diocese of Busan on February 16, 1984, Father Hwang Tae-ung took office. The 6 pastor, Father Son Deok-man, began construction in October 1996 of a building to be used as a rectory, convent and education center, and completed a building with 1 basement floor and 3 above-ground floors (156 pyeong) in July 1998 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia; the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia records it as the completion of a new rectory building on July 3, 1998). In 2000, to mark the Great Jubilee, he launched the ‘Have Children and Care for Parents Movement’ to care for disadvantaged youth and elderly people living alone.

[Branching Off] On January 11, 2002, Yongho 1-dong Parish was separated and established, and the parish registers of 778 households and 1,892 persons were transferred (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia describes this as branching off part of Yongho-dong in 2002 to the newly established Igidae Church. Afterwards, the 8 pastor, Father Kim Hyeong-geun, took office and worked for the inner consolidation of the parish by reading Scripture and praying the rosary together with all the faithful before and after Mass (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). On August 20, 2011, the long-desired parking lot site was purchased and blessed (Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).

[Parish Strength and Present State] The parish statistics in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 925 persons in 1978, 2,271 persons in 1982, 3,097 persons in 1985, 5,627 persons in 1991, 6,267 persons in 1996, and 6,633 persons in 2000, and the jurisdiction at that time was all of Yongho 2·4-dong and part of Yongho 1·3-dong. According to the Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia, as of 2013, the number of faithful is 5,795, and centered on the Lay Apostolate Council there are groups such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Marian Association, the St. Anne Association, the Yeondo Association, the Altar Society, the St. Andrew Kim Dae-geon Association, the Apostolic Society, the Missionary Rosary Society and the Rock Society, with land of about 1,620 m² and building area of church, hall, rectory, convent and others of about 5,023 m². The same source evaluates that the church was established because of many migrants due to urban planning, but regional development was not easy so the growth of the church was slow, and since the 2000s, as large apartment complexes were built on the former Dongkuk Steel site and in the Yongho Bay area, the number of faithful has increased and the church has become active.

Related Places and People

• Daeyeon Parish: the parish from which Yongho Parish was separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). It is also the church the faithful attended during the mission chapel period (Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Yongho 1-dong Parish (Igidae Church): the parish branched off from Yongho Church in 2002 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Father Kang Dae-sik (Denis Kearney): a member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban and the first pastor of Yongho Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Successive pastors (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, based on the account of 2002): the first, Dionysio Kearney (Kang Dae-sik) (1978.12~1982.6), the 2 Joseph Ruth (Jo) (1982.6~1984.2), the 3 Joseph Hwang Tae-ung (1984.2~1987.2), the 4 Nicolaus Han Yeong-il (1987.2~1990.2), the 5 John the Baptist Kim Sang-ho (1990.2~1996.2), the 6 Thomas Son Deok-man (1996.2~2001.2), the 7 Andrew Kim Dae-geon Kim Jeong-su (2001.2~2002.1), the 8 Blasius Kim Hyeong-geun (2002.1~).

References and Sources

1. Academy of Korean Studies, Busan History and Culture Encyclopedia “Yongho Church”. Purpose of establishment and changes (1978.12.3. Elevation to parish, 1982.5.20. Dedication of the expanded church), branching off in 2002, present state in 2013.
   https://www.grandculture.net/busan/toc/GC04210907
2. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Yongho Parish” (Volume 9). Mission chapel period and parish establishment, church expansion, construction of rectory and education center, separation in 2002, parish statistics and list of successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4748