Chojung Catholic Church

History & origins

Chojung Parish was established on June 30, 1997, when Bishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, then Bishop of Cheongju, separated it from Jeungpyeong Parish. Fr. Paul Park Yong-su became the first pastor. Before the new community had its own church, it used a grain warehouse at 133 Jungang-ro in Jeungpyeong-eup as a temporary place of worship and began organizing parish life there. Its establishment came as the Catholic population of the Jeungpyeong area expanded and more local pastoral care became necessary.

On September 2, 2000, the parish broke ground for a new church on the present site at 23 Chojung 4-gil. Construction continued for a little over a year, and on October 28, 2001, the completed church was dedicated in a liturgy presided over by Bishop Gabriel Chang Bong-hun. Moving from a temporary space into a permanent church gave the parish a stable setting for its liturgy, formation, and community life.

The parish also preserves a particular story connected with its patron, St. Lucy. According to the official parish history, an inheritance from Lucia Lee Bok-sun, the mother of Bishop Cheong Jin-suk, helped in the process of obtaining the church site, and this connection became part of the parish's memory of its patron saint. Cardinal Cheong later visited the parish and planted a commemorative tree. The chronology shows how Chojung began as a new community separated from Jeungpyeong, built its own church, and gradually took root as a parish of the region.