Dae-an Catholic Church

Overview

Daean Church is a church belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu, located in Dae-an-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu Metropolitan City. On July 1, 1965, it was separated and established from the Gyesan-dong Parish (the encyclopedia also lists the Samdeok-dong Parish together), and its patron is the Assumption of Mary. It began by converting the building of Dongbonwonsa (東本願寺), a Buddhist temple built during the Japanese colonial period, for use as a church, and its first pastor was Father Heo Yeon-gu (Moses).

History

[Purchase of the Dongbonwonsa building] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in accordance with its pastoral plan, the Archdiocese of Daegu purchased the annex building of Dongbonwonsa (東本願寺), a Japanese-era Buddhist temple located at 50-8 Dae-an-dong, on June 1964, organized a building renovation committee on July of that year, and completed the renovation work on November. Dongbonwonsa was a wooden structure built in 1922, with a building area of 100 pyeong, used under Japanese rule as a Buddhist temple for high-ranking Japanese officials; after liberation it became a refugee camp and was crowded with many refugees during the Korean War. At that time 99 households lived in the camp and 19 households lived nearby, and from 1965 the Dae-an-dong Parish began purchasing occupancy rights while resettling these refugees in stable places such as apartments. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that Father Park Sang-tae (Ludovico) of Gyesan Church promoted the establishment of Daean Church. Father Park planned in 1963 to build a church in Dae-an-dong, a central commercial district of Daegu and a transportation hub near Daegu Station, purchased Dongbonwonsa and the surrounding land in turn, and repaired and completed the church building on November 30, 1963, and in 1964 purchased from Cheonrigyo at 50-8 Dae-an-dong part of the former Buddhist mission office site of about 925.62 m² [280 pyeong] of land, about 264.46 m² [80 pyeong] of buildings, and ancillary facilities.

[Establishment as a parish] The encyclopedia states that it was established as a parish on July 1965 and afterwards made a plan to move the church to the main building of Dongbonwonsa. The date of establishment is July 1, 1965 (common to the encyclopedia, the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea address directory, and the Archdiocese of Daegu parish information), and the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that it branched off from Gyesan Church, while the encyclopedia states that it was separated from the Gyesan-dong Parish and the Samdeok-dong Parish.

[Repair and relocation of the church] According to the encyclopedia, at first the plan was to remodel the existing building into a new Korean-Western eclectic church, but Archbishop Seo Jeong-gil, who visited the site on February 1972, opposed the remodeling plan that would obscure the image of the existing building and directed that it be repaired as an inculturated church, so it was decided to preserve the original form and repair it. From April 1972 to the end of November, interior and exterior repairs were completed in a way that preserved the Oriental beauty as much as possible, the church was moved to the main building, and the 16-pyeong ossuary, which had been an annex building, was converted into a rectory.

[Growth and transformation] According to the encyclopedia, on March 1973 the old church was remodeled into a kindergarten and Daean Kindergarten was opened (closed on February 20, 1987). The old rectory was repaired as a convent. On October 1968, at the request of Father Heo Yeon-gu, a branch of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres was established, but since there was no convent, for about 6 months the sisters commuted from the Daegu motherhouse, and in 1973 a convent was built and on September 1976 a catechetical room was built. In 1977 the thatched houses at the entrance of the parish were purchased and demolished to complete the churchyard clearing project, and on July 1981 a private house of 60 pyeong of land and 38 pyeong of floor area, purchased with the cooperation of the diocese, was converted into a catechetical room.

[New church] According to the encyclopedia, in 1994 a committee for compiling the 30-year history of the parish was formed and preparations for building a new church began, on July 2, 1995 the church was moved to the annex building at 50-8 Dae-an-dong, which had been the early church and then used as a kindergarten building, and on August 15, with Bishop Seo Jeong-deok presiding, the groundbreaking ceremony was held together with the parish patronal feast. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that construction of the new church began on August 15, 1995 and the dedication ceremony was held on August 18, 1996. The encyclopedia states that, taking advantage of the parish’s character as located in a commercial center with many faithful living outside the parish territory, it is committed to serving as a pastoral center for merchants, travelers, and workers.

[Status and activities in the 2020s] According to the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia, as of January 2022 the pastor is Im Jong-pil (Francis) and there are 1,169 registered faithful. It holds charity concerts for migrants and the elderly and the Daean Family Camp, runs a senior school for local elderly people, conducts regular mountain hikes for the faithful, and operates parish community meetings, small Christian community meetings, story-sharing room meetings, and others. For migrants, Mass is celebrated in English at 2 p.m. and in Vietnamese at 5:30 p.m. among the Sunday Masses. As organizations it lists the pastoral council, liturgy department, district council, Sunday school, mothers’ association, Cursillo association, Tower of Ivory Curia, military chaplaincy support association, altar decoration association, Association for the Deceased, humanity association, vocation support association, youth association, altar servers, charismatic prayer group, mountaineering club, and others. This source evaluates Daean Church as a church needed for studying the process of Catholic propagation in Jung-gu, Daegu and the status and role of Catholicism in the local community since the 1960s.

[Church statistics and successive pastors] The church statistics recorded in the encyclopedia are 667 persons in 1965, 1,102 persons in 1970, 1,346 persons in 1975, 1,534 persons in 1980, 1,840 persons in 1986, 1,975 persons in 1989, and 2,036 persons in 1994. The successive priests are the first, Heo Yeon-gu Moses (1965.7–1971.11), the 2th, Lee Pan-seok Joseph (1971.11–1976.3), the 3th, Jeong Jae-wan Nicolaus (1976.3–1981.4), the 4st, Lee Chang-ho Andreas (1981.4–1986.1), the 5th, Yun Gwang-je David (1986.1–1990.6), the 6th, Lee Gil-jun Paul (1990.6–1993.10), and the 7th, Bae Im-pyo John (1993.10–time of writing). The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea address directory lists the religious congregation as the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, the number of Catholic mission chapels as 0, and the jurisdiction as all of Gyodong, Dae-an-dong, Dongmun-dong, Dongseong-ro 1-ga, Bukseong-ro, Buknae-dong, Sail-dong, Pojeong-dong, Hyangchon-dong, Hwajeon-dong, and others, and parts of Gongpyeong-dong, Dongseong-ro 2-ga, Jongno, and others.

Architecture and Space

According to the encyclopedia, the church building is the Dongbonwonsa built of wood in 1922 (building area 100 pyeong), repaired as an inculturated church. The repair in 1972 was carried out in the direction of preserving the original form instead of a Korean-Western eclectic remodeling plan, and the annex ossuary (16 pyeong) became the rectory. Construction of the new church began on August 1995 and it was dedicated on August 18, 1996 (Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia). The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia gives the address of the church as 31-11, Dae-an-dong.

Related Places and People

• Gyesan-dong Parish (Gyesan Church): the parish from which Daean Church branched off. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that Father Park Sang-tae (Ludovico) of Gyesan Church promoted its establishment.
• Samdeok-dong Parish: the encyclopedia states that in 1965 the Dae-an-dong Parish was separated and established from the Gyesan-dong Parish and the Samdeok-dong Parish.
• Dongbonwonsa (東本願寺): a Buddhist temple built in 1922, whose building was changed into a church (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres: a branch was established on October 1968 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Dae-an-dong Parish” (3 vols.). Purchase and repair of the Dongbonwonsa building, year of establishment, growth and transformation, relocation to the new church, church statistics and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1291
2. The Academy of Korean Studies, Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia “Daean Church”. Process of promoting the establishment, establishment in 1965, dedication of the new church in 1996, status and significance on January 2022.
   https://www.grandculture.net/daegu/toc/GC40004616
3. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Address Directory “Daean” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Date of establishment 1965.07.01, patron Assumption of Mary, religious congregation, jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000788&gubn2=all&char=all
4. Archdiocese of Daegu, Parish Information “Daean Church”. Date of establishment July 1, 1965, patron Assumption of Mary.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=35&premenu&srl=church_search