Daebong Catholic Church

Overview

Daebong Church is a church in Daebong-dong, Jung-gu, Daegu, belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu. It was separated and established from Samdeok-dong Parish in 1955, and its patron is Saint John the Baptist. The first pastor was Father Choi Byeong-seon (John), and the church building begun in 1958 and completed on April 1960 was blessed by Bishop Seo Jeong-gil in the same year on June 25.

History

〔Background of establishment〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Samdeok-dong Parish was too small to accommodate all the faithful in eastern Daegu and was too distant for believers in this area. Therefore, after the 8·15 Liberation, a plan to build a church was promoted centered on district leaders Kim So-su (Nicolaus), Heo Il-seon (Paul) and Kim Ok-ju (Francis). On October 1949 about 1,000 pyeong of Japanese-owned land was purchased, and additional surrounding land was later bought to reach about 1,700 pyeong; Mass was celebrated on the present rectory site, where a Japanese house had stood. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia likewise records that in 1945 Samdeok Church was too small and distant to accommodate believers in southeastern Daegu, so establishment of a new church in the Daebong-dong area was promoted, and on October 1949 about 3,305.79 m² [about 1,000 pyeong] of Japanese-owned land with surrounding land was bought and Mass was celebrated on the site of the Japanese house.

〔Establishment as a parish〕 According to the encyclopedia, during the 6·25 War, religious sisters who had fled from Seoul and Father Je Chan-gyu (Simeon), who was a military chaplain, stayed in Daebong-dong and briefly took charge of pastoral care, and on October 1955, with the appointment of Father Choi Byeong-seon as first pastor, it was separated from Samdeok-dong Parish and established as a parish. However, the building used for Mass also housed the childcare facility of the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres, and Hyoseong Girls Middle School was also using it as temporary classrooms, so the parish atmosphere was very disordered. On November 26, 1956 Hyoseong Girls Middle School moved to a newly built school building in Namsan-dong and the childcare facility also moved to Seoul. The Samdeok-dong Parish entry also states that Daebong-dong Parish was separated in 1955, and the Samdeok Church entry in the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states that Daebong Church was newly founded in 1955 and part of its territory was transferred. The founding date differs by source. The encyclopedia and the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia give the opening as separation and establishment on October 1, 1955, while the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia states in the same entry that the diocese established the parish on November 1955 (in metadata as November 3). The founding date in the address book of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea and in the parish information of the Archdiocese of Daegu is November 3, 1955.

〔Construction and blessing of the church〕 According to the encyclopedia, financial conditions made a new church building unthinkable, but when flour and corn supplied as relief goods by the Catholic relief organization (N.C.W.C.) were delivered to the church, Father Choi and the faithful sold them to provide the main funds for construction, and built the church by directly gathering sand and gravel from the streams below Daebong Bridge and Sangdong Bridge. Construction begun on February 1958 was completed on April 1960, and in the same year it was blessed with Bishop Seo Jeong-gil presiding on June 25 (the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia record the blessing ceremony as June 25). On August 30, 1961 the Daebong branch of the Sisters of the Holy Angels was installed and assisted in pastoral work, withdrew on September 1963, and thereafter a branch of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was installed (the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia records installation of a Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus branch in 1963). On May 1968 the rectory was newly built together with renovation of the church floor, and in December 1978 the convent was newly built (encyclopedia).

〔Growth and transformation〕 According to the encyclopedia, Daebong-dong Parish designated 1973 as the Year for Doubling Parish Membership and fostered the missionary spirit step by step through prayer, liturgy and public events. It founded a Saemaeul credit cooperative on August 28, 1977 (Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia), established a credit union on November 1979, and in the following year opened the parish hall as a library on June (encyclopedia). On January 1982 it reduced the parish budget to save 1 hundred million won, donated it to the diocese and helped purchase the Sanggyeok-dong church land, and on March 1983 it founded the John Scholarship Society to support disadvantaged youth. On July 1984 Father Choi Si-dong held the first youth Cursillo and womens Cursillo in the country, producing 72 cursillistas. On April 1985 it newly built a convent with a total floor area of 60 pyeong and newly built the rectory on October, and modernized the catechism rooms on March 1986. On April 1987 it purchased a 2-story house at Daebong 2-dong 175-3, demolished it on June and built a wall, and on April 1991 it purchased 66 pyeong of land as a site for an education hall. On June 1991 it equipped a computer system for office computerization, and from January 1993 it held 1 faith lectures each month in accordance with diocesan evangelization guidelines. On October 1994 it began interior and exterior repair of the church, newly refurbishing walls and ceiling, altar, tabernacle, ambo and pews, and the encyclopedia states that ahead of the 40 anniversary of parish foundation in 1995 it was planning a 40-year parish history and collecting materials.

〔Daughter parishes and later period〕 According to the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia, as church membership grew, Daebong Church divided off Bongdeok Church in 1978 and Saint Thomas Church in 1985, and founded Daebong Bible College on March 2, 2004. The same source records that it operated a winter faith school for middle and high school students, outings for elderly living alone in the parish districts, and a senior college, and held the 2019 Advent Concert on November 2019. As of January 2022 the pastor is Father Kim Cheol-jae (Paul), the assistant priest is Father Lee Jun-yeong (Linus), and registered faithful number 4,457. It lists as organizations the pastoral council, liturgy committee, district council, Sunday school, mothers association, Curia of the Queen Most Worthy of Honor, altar linens group, association for the deceased, humanity association, vocation support association, M.E. Joachim association and others, and states that small communities consist of districts and groups. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia evaluates Daebong Church as a church needed for research on the spread of Catholicism in Daegu around Liberation and on the status and role of Catholicism in the local community.

〔Church statistics and successive pastors〕 The church membership recorded in the encyclopedia is 350 in 1955, 3,113 in 1965 (together with 4,323 in 1965 in the same entry), 5,240 in 1970, 8,424 in 1975, 7,233 in 1980, 7,906 in 1985, 8,462 in 1990, and 8,433 in 1994. The address book of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea gives the jurisdiction as all of Daebong-dong and Icheon-dong and part of Bongdeok-dong. The successive priests in the encyclopedia are first Choi Byeong-seon, John (1955.10-1967.12), pastor No. 2 Kim Yeong-ok, John (1967.12-1969.1), pastor No. 3 Lee Myeong-u, James (1969.1-1971.11), pastor No. 4 Kim Yong-chan, Simon (1971.11-1975.12), pastor No. 5 Jang Tae-sik, Linus (1975.12-1977.3), pastor No. 6 Lee Mun-hui, Paul (1977.3-7), pastor No. 7 Park Chang-su, John (1977.7-1980.9), pastor No. 8 Choi Si-dong, John (1980.9-1985.1), pastor No. 9 Jeon Ju-won, Andrew (1985.1-1989.6), pastor No. 10 Lee Chang-ho, Andrew (1989.6-1993.10), and pastor No. 11 Lee Seong-u, Achilles (1993.10 to the time of writing).

Architecture and Space

The encyclopedia states that church construction begun on February 1958 was completed on April 1960 and was blessed by Bishop Seo Jeong-gil on June 25, 1960. The funds were money from selling flour and corn relief goods of the Catholic relief organization and sand and gravel directly gathered by the faithful from streams. The Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia gives the address of Daebong Church as 174-3 Daebong-dong.

Related Places and People

• Samdeok Church (Samdeok Youth Church): the mother parish from which Daebong Church was separated in 1955. Samdeok-dong Parish was founded in 1933 as Samnipjeong Parish for pastoral care of Japanese faithful (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Bongdeok Church and Saint Thomas Church: the Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia records that Daebong Church divided off Bongdeok Church in 1978 and Saint Thomas Church in 1985.
• Father Choi Byeong-seon (John): the first pastor. The encyclopedia records his term as October 1955 to December 1967.
• Father Je Chan-gyu (Simeon): as a military chaplain during the 6·25 War he stayed in Daebong-dong and briefly took charge of pastoral care (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Daebong-dong Parish” (vol. 3). Foundation and development, church construction and blessing, growth and transformation, church membership and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1267
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Daegu History and Culture Encyclopedia “Daebong Church”. Purpose and changes of foundation, completion and blessing in 1960, divided parishes, current state and significance on January 2022.
   https://www.grandculture.net/daegu/toc/GC40004613
3. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Samdeok-dong Parish” (vol. 6). Separation of 7 daughter parishes including Daebong-dong Parish in 1955 and Suseong-dong Parish in 1964.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3031
4. Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Daebong” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Founding date 1955.11.03, patron Saint John the Baptist, religious community, jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000786&gubn2=all&char=all
5. Archdiocese of Daegu, Parish Information “Daebong Church”. Date of establishment November 3, 1955.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=21&premenu&srl=church_search