Chimsan Catholic Church

Overview

Chimsan Church is a church in Chimsan-dong, Buk-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City, belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu. It is a church built to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Church in Korea, separated and established from the Goseong-dong parish (Goseong Church) in 1984, and its patron is Saint Yi Gwang-heon Augustine. Its first pastor was Father Lee Pan-seok (Joseph).

History

[Background of establishment] The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism states that the establishment of a parish had long been the cherished wish of the faithful in the Chimsan-dong area, a district of the Daegu 3 Industrial Complex densely populated with workers centered on Obongsan. The Archdiocese of Daegu decided to build here a church commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Korean Catholic Church, and the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia also records that this church was erected as the “memorial church for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Church in Korea.”

[Site and construction] According to the encyclopedia, in 1983 funds collected from the Goseong-dong parish and the Nowon-dong parish were used to purchase the site, and Baek Yun-sik (Augustine), chairman of the lay association of the Daean-dong parish and a native of the Chimsan area, donated the construction cost of the church to commemorate and give thanks for the 50th anniversary of his baptism, and construction of the new church began on November 1983. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia records that on January 23, 1983 a campaign to raise 6000 ten thousand won for the church site was begun, that on May 1 Chairman Baek Yun-sik donated to the diocesan chancery land worth about 3 hundred million won, about 3,305.78 square meters [about 1,000 pyeong], making independent construction possible, and that for the church site, land of about 2,251.23 square meters [681 pyeong] was purchased with 1 hundred million 5000 million won raised by 3 churches in Goseong, Bisan and Nowon. The groundbreaking ceremony for the sanctuary was held on November 27, 1983.

[Parish erection and blessing] The encyclopedia states that it was separated and erected from the Goseong-dong parish on August 4, 1984, and that the church was completed and blessed on December 8. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that it was separated and established from Goseong Church on August 4, 1984, while in the section on changes it states that on August 5, 1984 Chimsan Church was branched off from Goseong Church, erected, and the dedication ceremony of the new sanctuary was held. The establishment date in the address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea and in the parish information of the Archdiocese of Daegu is August 5, 1984 (depending on the source, the establishment date is given as August 4 and the 5th).

[Buildings] According to the encyclopedia, the church building stands on a site of 2,247.93 square meters and consists of 1 basement floor and 1 above-ground floors, with a total floor area of 1,652.89 square meters, and is equipped with a rectory, a convent and an education hall. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia records that on a site of the same area it has a total building floor area of 1,652.89 square meters, with 1 basement floor and 2 above-ground floors, equipped with a rectory, a convent and an education hall (the two sources differ on the number of above-ground floors).

[Later activities] According to the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia, in 1986 it branched off Seongbuk Church, founded the Chimsan Church Credit Union on October 31, 1993, and held a thrifty bazaar for the 26th anniversary of the parish erection on October 10, 2010. The encyclopedia states that the parish holds special devotional events by group every day in the church during Lent, Advent and the months of Mary, the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Rosary, makes pilgrimages to holy places more than 1 times a year, holds annual retreats for all the faithful and by group and re-education of the faithful by district, and organized Legion of Mary units by small neighborhood unit with the goal of enrolling all the faithful as members of the Legion of Mary and went out to street evangelization. At the time of writing, it states that under the pastoral policy of “families living the Gospel with Christ” it was striving to revitalize small community meetings.

[Jurisdiction and present status] The jurisdiction is recorded in both the encyclopedia and the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia as the entire Chimsan 1-dong area and parts of Chimsan 2 and 3-dong and Nowon 1-ga. The address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea gives parts of Chimsan-ro and Chimsan-nam-ro. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that as of 2022, the pastor was Bae Seong-su (Laurence) and the registered faithful numbered 1,475, and lists as organizations the pastoral council, the lay apostolate council, the liturgy committee, the district council, the social welfare committee, the education committee, the facilities and environment committee, the Sunday school, the mothers’ association, the Cursillo association, the Sang-atap Curia, the military chaplaincy support association, the altar society, the association for the repose of souls, the Inseong association, the vocations support association, the youth group and others.

[Statistics and successive pastors] The statistics in the encyclopedia are 1,982 in 1984, 2,001 in 1990, 1,462 in 1995, 2,130 in 1999, and 2,240 in 2003. Successive priests were the first Lee Pan-seok Joseph (1984.8–1988.6), the 2 pastor Lee Jae-won Job (1988.6–1992.6), the 3 pastor Hwang Ju-cheol Rogerio (1992.6–1996.8), the 4 pastor Lee Chan-hyeon James (1996.8–1997.8), the 5 pastor Si Seong-bok Paul (1997.8–2001.8), the 6 pastor Kim Du-chan John the Baptist (2001.9–2003.2), the 7 pastor Jeong Seong-u Paul (2003.2–8), and the 8 pastor Kim Jeong-hwan Michael (2003.8–time of writing).

[Significance] The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia evaluates Chimsan Church as a Catholic church needed for studying the process of the spread of Catholicism in the Buk-gu area of Daegu since the 1980s and the status and role of Catholicism in the local community.

Related Places and People

• Goseong Church (Goseong-dong parish): the mother parish from which Chimsan Church was separated in 1984 (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Seongbuk Church: branched off from Chimsan Church in 1986 (Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia).
• Baek Yun-sik (Augustine): chairman of the lay association of the Daean-dong parish and a native of the Chimsan area. He donated the church construction cost to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his baptism (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism). The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia records that he donated land to the diocesan chancery.
• Father Lee Pan-seok (Joseph): the first pastor (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism “Chimsan Parish” (vol. 11). Memorial church for the 200th anniversary, separation and erection in 1984, background of construction and building size, devotional activities, statistics and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/6120
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia “Chimsan Church”. Site fundraising and donation, groundbreaking and blessing, branching of Seongbuk Church, credit union, status and significance as of 2022.
   https://www.grandculture.net/daegu/toc/GC40004705
3. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Address Book “Chimsan” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Establishment date 1984.08.05, patron Saint Yi Gwang-heon Augustine, jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000901&gubn2=all&char=all
4. Archdiocese of Daegu, Parish Information “Chimsan Church”. Establishment date August 5, 1984.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=78&premenu&srl=church_search