Okcheon-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Okcheon-dong Church is a church of the Chuncheon Diocese overseeing the Okcheon-dong area of Gangneung City, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, established by separation from the Imdang-dong Parish, with the Holy Family as its patron. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records the date of establishment as November 1, 1974, while the Chuncheon Diocese website records it as December 15, 1974. On April 17, 2023, the new church was completed and dedicated in a dedication ceremony presided over by Bishop Simon Kim Ju-young.

History

[Background and church construction] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that after the Gangneung area was promoted to a city in 1955, it kept developing, the population exceeded 8 ten thousand by 1970 and the number of faithful also grew, and with increased tourism demand and urban development plans the inflow of population into the eastern district was marked, so a new parish was urgently needed. Accordingly, the 2th Bishop of Chuncheon, Bishop T. Stewart (Park Thomas), purchased 355 pyeong of land at 324-1 Okcheon-dong and began church construction on April 1973, residing at Calvary Hospital in Gangneung and directly overseeing the work, and 19 months after groundbreaking, on November 1, 1974, held the dedication ceremony while separating and establishing the Okcheon-dong Parish from the Imdang-dong Parish. The number of faithful at establishment was 450. The Chuncheon Diocese website states that Bishop Thomas Park began church construction in 1973, completed the church and held the dedication on November 1, 1974, and the parish was separated and established from the Imdang-dong Parish on December 15, 1974.

[Patron Holy Family] Both the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and the Chuncheon Diocese website state that the parish patron “Holy Family” was designated by Bishop Stewart (Park Thomas), who had carried on the Happy Family-Making Movement since 1973.

[Early pastoral care] Bishop Stewart personally celebrated Mass for one month and then on December 1974 appointed Father Bernard B. Oxley (Ok) as the first pastor. Father Oxley founded devotional groups such as the Legion of Mary “Queen of Apostles” Praesidium (1975.1) and the “Mangdeok Vincentian Council” (1976.6). The 2th pastor, Father Arthur A. McMahon (Ahn Seong-do), promoted a movement to double the faithful for the enrollment of catechumens, while after completing a special training program for alcoholics in the United States he devoted himself to alcohol-abuse prevention education (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

[Korean priests and expansion of facilities] From the appointment of the 3th pastor, Father Laurentius Lee Heung-seop, Korean priests took charge of pastoral care instead of foreign priests of the Missionary Society of St. Columban. Father Lee prepared a branch convent of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres on April 1984, and as the number of faithful surged with housing-site development, he completed a 2-story above ground and 1-story basement education hall and convent building (total floor area 120 pyeong) on June 1983 and held its blessing. He replaced furnishings including church amplifier facilities (1982.4), carried out church window tinting (1982.8-9), raising of the bell tower (1985.4), and renewal of the sanctuary wall (1985.10), and replaced the signboard and cross of the Anin Catholic mission chapel under his jurisdiction and repaired the Jeongdong Catholic mission chapel. He also founded the “Queen of Charity” Curia (1986.6) and created the men’s groups “Daegeon Association” (1983.10) and “Sacred Heart Association” (1984.4), and on November 1984 founded a credit union to help financially struggling faithful (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

[4th pastor Father Song Seong-sik and separation of the Noam-dong Parish] The 4rd pastor, Father Thomas Song Seong-sik, launched the “Agnes Scholarship Association” on January 1988 with funds donated by Grandmother Agnes Han Sun-ok and others to help boy and girl heads of household, and with the cooperation of parishioner Aloysius Gong Gwang-chan’s internal medicine clinic supported the health of disadvantaged neighbors. The encyclopedia states that Father Song, a member of the Catholic Priests’ Association for Justice, led in Gangneung the June democratization struggle for winning a direct presidential election system in 1987 and later served as co-chair of the Gangneung people’s movement headquarters. On July 1987 he expanded the children-centered “Market of Grace” into an event for all faithful, and on September 1987, as the number of faithful grew, he separated and established the Noam-dong Parish, transferring part of his jurisdiction. Father Song died of his chronic diabetes after the midnight Mass on December 25, 1988, which was his last Christmas Mass (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

[1989-1996] Under the 5th pastor, Father Peter Ha Hwa-sik, the rectory and convent (26.4 pyeong) and others were expanded and remodeled and the church interior was finished in wood, with a blessing held on October 1990. The ten-million-won bequest left by Father Song Seong-sik was combined with the Agnes scholarship fund and launched under the renamed “Doa (Thomas + Agnes) Scholarship Association” on July 1990, and on January 1992 the “Franciscan Social Welfare Association” (FRC) for a home for the poor and sick was founded, purchasing land and buildings of over 2,300 pyeong at San 49-1 Cheongnyang-dong, Gangneung City on February 1994 and starting its work. On April 1990 the credit union was registered as a corporation and separated and made independent from the parish, and on March 1992 the “St. Paul Bookstore” was opened in its place, and in the same year on August the altar and crucifix and others were newly refurbished under the guidance of Father Eligius Jo Gwang-ho. On October 1993 a paid parish secretary system was newly created and Stephano Kim Se-jung was appointed as the first secretary, and the following year on May the “20-Year History of Okcheon-dong Parish” was published. The 6th pastor, Father Thomas Aquinas Oh Sang-cheol, registered the “Doa Scholarship Association” as an incorporated foundation on July 1994 and separated and made it independent, transferred the buildings and land of the Franciscan Social Welfare Association to the diocese on February 1996, and on March 1996, with the development of the Ponam and Songjeong districts, separated and established the Chodang Parish and adjusted his jurisdiction (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

[The 2000s and the new church] The 8th pastor, Father Laurentius Choi Il-ho, repaired the rectory on December 2000 and in 2001 repaired the office (May), the parish rooftop (July) and the restrooms (December) (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Chuncheon Diocese website states that as 50 years passed since the church was built and it aged, the need for a new church building arose, and on April 17, 2023 the new church was completed and dedicated in a ceremony presided over by Bishop Simon Kim Ju-young.

[Church statistics and successive pastors] The numbers of faithful recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 570 in 1975, 729 in 1980, 1,440 in 1985, 1,719 in 1990, 3,107 in 1995, and 2,622 in 2000. Its jurisdiction is all of Okcheon-dong, Ponam-1-dong and Songjeong-dong, and parts of Ipam-dong, Ponam-2-dong and Gyo-2-dong. Successive pastors are the first Bernard Oxley (1974.12-1978.12), 2th Arthur McMahon (1978.12-1982.3), 3th Laurentius Lee Heung-seop (1982.3-1987.5), 4th Thomas Song Seong-sik (1987.5-1988.12), interim Anello Choi Won-seok (1988.12-1989.3), 5th Peter Ha Hwa-sik (1989.3-1994.6), 6th Thomas Aquinas Oh Sang-cheol (1994.6-1996.8), 7th Paul Maeng Seok-cheol (1996.8-2000.9), and 8th Laurentius Choi Il-ho (2000.9-present). Here “present” means the time of writing of this encyclopedia.

Related places and persons

• Imdang-dong Parish: the mother parish from which Okcheon-dong Parish was separated (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Chuncheon Diocese website).
• Noam-dong Parish: on September 1987 it received part of Okcheon-dong Parish’s jurisdiction and was separated and established (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Chodang Parish: on March 1996, with the development of the Ponam and Songjeong districts, it was separated and established from Okcheon-dong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Bishop T. Stewart (Park Thomas): the 2th Bishop of Chuncheon, who directly oversaw church construction and designated the patron “Holy Family” (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Anin Catholic mission chapel and Jeongdong Catholic mission chapel: mission chapels under Okcheon-dong Parish during Father Lee Heung-seop’s tenure (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Okcheon-dong Parish” (Vol. 9). Background and church construction, patron Holy Family, devotional groups and facilities, separation of Noam-dong and Chodang Parishes, church statistics, successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4650
2. Chuncheon Diocese website, Parish “Okcheon-dong Parish of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph”. Establishment date 1974.12.15., church dedication in 1974, origin of the patron Holy Family, new church dedication on April 17, 2023.
   https://www.cccatholic.or.kr/parish/parish/view/32