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About this place
Seoseok Catholic Church is a parish church in the Central District of the Diocese of Chuncheon and is dedicated to Saint Andrew Kim Taegon. Located in the mountainous area of Seoseok-myeon, Hongcheon County, the parish serves as a center where local Catholics gather for Mass and the sacraments, and it also functions as a point of connection for faith communities scattered across a broad rural area.
Official diocesan records show that the Catholic community in Seoseok grew around a mission station before becoming a parish. For that reason, Seoseok Catholic Church is best understood not simply as a neighborhood church building but as the center of a parish formed through the long development and interconnection of several mountain-area Catholic communities. Its patron, Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, also links the parish naturally with the tradition of martyrdom in the Korean Catholic Church.
History & origins
The Catholic community in Seoseok began to take shape through the personal story of a believer who had lived through the Korean War. According to the diocesan history, Andrew Yeon Gyu-pil was wounded during the war, received baptism, and after leaving military service settled in Pungam-ri. The following year he asked Father Philip Cho Seon-hui, then pastor of Hongcheon Parish, to establish a mission station in Seoseok. Father Cho acquired a thatched house near the present church site, and on October 10, 1956, a catechist was assigned, marking the beginning of a more stable Catholic community in Seoseok.
The early community grew while serving Pungam-ri, Geomsan-ri, Saenggok-ri, Cheongnyang-ri, and Eoron-ri. Through the efforts of the faithful, a mission chapel and residence for the catechist were built, and on October 30, 1958, Bishop Thomas Quinlan presided over the dedication of the chapel. As additional mission stations were formed in the surrounding region, Seoseok gradually developed into a pastoral center for the area.
On May 31, 1968, Seoseok Mission Station was elevated to parish status, at that time overseeing the mission stations of Saenggok, Naemyeon, Jangpyeong, Mulgeolli, and Gwangwon. As the church building aged, the community raised funds and received help from benefactors and parishioners for renovation. On August 1, 2004, Bishop John of the Cross Chang Yik celebrated a Mass of thanksgiving for the restored parish church. This history shows how Seoseok grew from a postwar request by one believer into a parish serving several mountain communities.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Seoseok Catholic Church: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
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Building information
- Passenger elevators: 0
- 1 above-ground floors · 0 below-ground floors
- Total floor area: 358㎡
Building-register record · · Source
Accessibility information
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Sources and updates
- Information Status
- Official
- Source
- Diocese source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
- Last updated
- Source
- Francisco Diary
Diocese
Chuncheon Diocese (Diocese of Chuncheon)
Official website: http://www.cccatholic.or.kr
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