Wontong Catholic Church

History & origins

After the Korean War, Catholics in the recovered Wontong area initially traveled to Inje Parish to attend Mass. In the summer of 1958, with the approval of the pastor of Inje Parish, the home of the mission-station leader began to be used as a chapel, giving the Wontong community a more distinct local form.

In 1968, a new chapel was built and blessed by Bishop Thomas Park. Before a diocesan priest was formally assigned, thirteen military chaplains resided there over a period of nearly seventeen years and provided pastoral care to local Catholics. This history shows the important role of military chaplaincy in the formation of the local Church in a region with a strong military presence.

Wontong became a quasi-parish in 1987 and was elevated to a full parish on April 19, 1994. The church was later expanded and renovated to accommodate the growing community, and the faithful celebrated Christmas Mass in the renewed church in 2005. The progression from mission station to quasi-parish and then parish reflects the gradual establishment of Catholic life in northern Inje after the war.

This history shows that Wontong did not begin as a fully developed parish organization. It grew gradually from a house chapel, through years of support from military chaplains and a quasi-parish stage, into an independent diocesan parish. The progression from a small community in an unsettled postwar region, to a permanent chapel, to a parish centered on a diocesan priest, and finally to an expanded church building summarizes the gradual establishment of Catholic life in Wontong.