Naedeok-dong Cathedral

Overview

The Naedeok-dong Cathedral is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Cheongju, located in Naedeok-dong, Cheongwon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do. According to the parish information of the Diocese of Cheongju, its establishment date is listed as August 15, 1957, and its patron as the Holy Family. The church building built in 1961 is regarded as showing the architectural characteristics of the churches built in the Diocese of Cheongju by the American Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society, and it was designated as a Cheongju Future Heritage in 2023.

History

The parish information of the Catholic Diocese of Cheongju gives August 15, 1957 as the establishment date of the Naedeok-dong Cathedral, and a serial article in the Jungbu Maeil states that the parish was established in August 1957.

Naedeok-dong Church is one of 18 churches built in the Diocese of Cheongju while it was administered by the Maryknoll Society (Maryknoll Missioners) from 1953 to 1969. The Jungbu Maeil reported that construction of this church began in August 1960, was completed in November 1961, and that it was elevated to a cathedral in March 1962. The article explains that the church was built from the outset with the intention that it would become the cathedral. Another article in the same newspaper states that the church and the rectory were blessed in October 1961, so the completion date differs by article — October 1961 (blessing) and November (completion).

Bishop James V. Pardy, the first bishop of the Diocese of Cheongju, served as diocesan bishop from March 1962 to June 1969. The Jungbu Maeil reports that the Naedeok-dong Cathedral, after Bishop Pardy, passed through Bishop Nicholas Jeong Jin-seok, the 2 bishop of the diocese, and that it is the place where Cardinal Jeong stayed for 28 years. The article also reports the news that Cardinal Jeong died at the age of 89.

Chungcheongbuk-do announced that on July 28, 2025 it registered Seoun-dong Church in Cheongju as a provincial cultural heritage and gave prior notice of the registration of the Naedeok-dong Cathedral and the former rectory as provincial cultural heritage. Good Church News (GCN) gave July 25, 2025 as the date of the prior notice for Naedeok-dong Church. Chungcheongbuk-do explained that this church and the former rectory representatively show the architectural style of the Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society. The designer (Park Tae-bong) and the builder (Kim Benedict) are clearly recorded, and with design drawings, ridge-beam inscriptions, photographs, construction records and other materials well preserved, they are regarded as having high historical value. The former rectory is now used as the history museum of the Catholic Diocese of Cheongju.

Architecture and Space

The Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia cites as characteristics of the church buildings built by Maryknoll in the Diocese of Cheongju a Latin cross-shaped plan, Chinese-style roofs, a bell tower modeled on the bell tower of the Maryknoll headquarters, and free spatial composition with flexible use of space. It explains that Naedeok-dong Church possesses all four of these characteristics evenly, and that the adoption of Chinese-style roofs across the main body, narthex (narthex) and bell tower, and the division of the bell tower into 3 parts with horizontal bands, with rectangular openings at the top and simple decoration inside, are not found in other churches in the Diocese of Cheongju. It says these features can be found in the bell tower and porch of the Maryknoll headquarters building and are also related to the tradition of Korean-Western eclecticism (Hanyang Jeolchung) handed down from the Diocese of Pyongyang during the Japanese colonial period.

Regarding the designer, the Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia states that he is presumed to be Father Pardy (James V. Pardy, 1898–1983) but that this is not certain, and that the drafting and construction supervision were likely undertaken by Park Tae-bong (?–1984), who had been involved in building the Pyongyang diocesan office during the Japanese colonial period. An article in the Jungbu Maeil reports that it is known that construction specialist Park Tae-bong was dispatched as construction supervisor for Okcheon Church in 1954, and was involved in the design and construction of Jincheon Church in 1956, Osong Church in 1961, and Seoun-dong Church in Cheongju in 1963. Another article in the same newspaper writes that Bishop James designed it himself and Father Raymond supervised it, so the attribution of the designer differs by source.

According to an article in the Jungbu Maeil, the church is a structure built of red brick, with a cement floor at the entrance and a wooden floor in the seating for the faithful. The seating for the faithful (nave and aisle) is in the basilica style with 6 bays (bay). Separate entrances were made behind the apse behind the altar and in the left and right transepts so that they could be used as independent small chapels when needed; it is said that in fact, in the cold winters of the 1960s, Mass was celebrated in the small chapel instead of the large parish church to save on heating costs. On the front, the narthex was made to project narrower and lower than the main body, with 3 pointed-arch entrance doors placed side by side, and the bell tower was placed at a corner rather than in the center of the front. The article explains the placement of the bell tower on the side, unlike Jeondong Church and others where it stands at the center of the building, as an influence of Maryknoll.

The Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia evaluates Naedeok-dong Church as a heritage preserving a venerable appearance through which the architectural characteristics of Maryknoll can be examined, and states that it was designated as a Cheongju Future Heritage in 2023. The explanation by Chungcheongbuk-do mentions the cross-shaped layout of the buildings, the harmony of the traditional tiled roof and Western-style exterior walls, and the design flexibly connecting the bell tower and spaces.

Related Places and People

• The Catholic Diocese of Cheongju - The diocese that has Naedeok-dong Cathedral as its cathedral.
• Seoun-dong Church in Cheongju - Built after relocating from the Bukmun-ro Parish in 1963, it was registered as a Chungcheongbuk-do cultural heritage in July 2025.
• Bishop James V. Pardy - The first bishop of the Diocese of Cheongju.
• Nicholas Jeong Jin-seok - The 2 bishop of the diocese.
• Park Tae-bong - The person recorded as the designer of Naedeok-dong Church.

References and Sources

1. Catholic Diocese of Cheongju, Parishes - Naedeok-dong Cathedral Church. Verified the establishment date of August 15, 1957 and the patron Holy Family.
   https://www.cdcj.or.kr/parish/parish/view/23001
2. Digital Cheongju Culture Encyclopedia, Naedeok-dong Church Building. Verified the completion in 1961, the architectural characteristics of Maryknoll, the explanation of the designer and construction supervision, and the designation as Cheongju Future Heritage in 2023.
   https://www.grandculture.net/cheongju/toc/GC00201879
3. Jungbu Maeil, In Search of Chungbuk Future Heritage - I. Harmony of Eastern and Western Architecture ‘Cheongju Naedeok-dong Cathedral’. Verified the dates of groundbreaking, completion and elevation to cathedral and the characteristics of the plan and structure.
   https://www.jbnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1337488
4. Jungbu Maeil, Chungbuk with Stories 100 Scenic Spots - Cathedral. Verified the account of the parish establishment in August 1957 and the blessing of the church and rectory in October 1961.
   https://www.jbnews.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=808627
5. Yonhap News, Seoun-dong and Naedeok-dong Cathedral Churches in Cheongju to Become Chungbuk Cultural Heritage. Verified Chungcheongbuk-do’s prior notice of registration as provincial cultural heritage and the records of the designer and builder.
   https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20250728072700064
6. Good Church News (GCN), Registration of Seoun-dong and Naedeok-dong Churches in Cheongju, Holy Places of Catholic Faith, as Cultural Heritage. Verified the date of the prior notice of registration and the use of the former rectory as the diocesan history museum.
   https://www.gcn.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=42828