Yangdeokwon Catholic Church

History & origins

The roots of the Catholic community in Yangdeokwon reach back to around 1866, after the Byeongin Persecution. Catholics who fled persecution settled in Galgi-ri, making their living through slash-and-burn farming and pottery, and gradually formed a Catholic village. When Pungsuwon Parish was established in 1888, Galgi-ri Mission Station was formally organized and remained under its pastoral care for many years.

The mission community was elevated to a parish on September 5, 1948, with the arrival of Fr. Ju Jae-yong. At the time it was known as Mulgubi Parish and had about 300 faithful. During the Korean War, however, the wooden church building was destroyed, and the community had to pass through a period of rebuilding after the war.

To provide for the parish’s long-term development, a new church was constructed on land that had already been acquired, and the parish moved there in November 1962. At the same time, its name was changed from Mulgubi to Yangdeokwon. The history of Yangdeokwon Parish thus runs from a Catholic village formed by people fleeing persecution, through the mission-station period and elevation to a parish, to postwar reconstruction and the establishment of its present name and location.