Jumunjin Catholic Church

History & origins

The origins of Jumunjin Parish go back to November 23, 1923, when Father Yi Cheol-yeon, who had been ministering in Geumgwang-ri, moved his pastoral base to Jumunjin in order to expand evangelization. The parish was transferred to the newly developing port of Jumunjin, but amid the growth of Gangneung and other circumstances, the community did not immediately establish a stable footing.

In January 1929 the church was destroyed by fire. Father Kim In-sang moved to Gangneung, and Jumunjin was reduced for a time to a mission station. During the Korean War, a priest was assigned again in November 1951 and the community was restored as a parish. In January 1955 Mass began to be celebrated in a new church building. This was the period in which the Jumunjin community rebuilt its parish structure despite war and regional change.

From September 3, 1967, the Order of Friars Minor was entrusted with the pastoral care of the parish and served it for about thirty years. On September 3, 1997, pastoral responsibility was returned to the Diocese of Chuncheon. In August 2002 Typhoon Rusa seriously damaged the church, but priests, religious, and lay faithful worked together in its restoration and rebuilding. The present church thus carries the memory of a parish that endured fire, war, religious-order ministry, natural disaster, and reconstruction.