Do Won Catholic Church

History & origins

Dowon Parish was established on September 3, 1998. After its establishment, the community continued preparations for a permanent parish church. Contemporary reporting states that a church-building committee organized fundraising through a variety of activities, including music concerts and the sale of goods. The participation of parishioners became an important material foundation for the construction project.

Ground was broken for the new church in April 2001, and construction was completed on October 16, 2002. On October 27 of that year Archbishop Paul Ri Moun-hi presided over the dedication of the church. The building was constructed with one basement level and three floors above ground, using funds that the parish community had raised over a number of years.

These events show that the years between the parish’s establishment in 1998 and the dedication of its church in 2002 were not simply a waiting period, but a time in which the community itself created the material foundation of the new parish. The early history of Dowon thus moved from administrative establishment, through parishioner-led preparation and fundraising, to settlement as a community with its own dedicated church.