Goseong Catholic Church

History & origins

Official records of the Archdiocese of Daegu state that Goseong Parish was established on October 28, 1958. Founded as an independent parish during the postwar growth of Daegu’s urban Catholic communities, it subsequently took root as the local community serving the liturgical and sacramental life of Catholics in the Goseong-dong area.

An archbishop’s homily mentions a plaque at the entrance of Goseong Church honoring “Chairman Gim Deok-yong, who offered this Goseong church.” This provides a concrete memory of the important role played by a lay Catholic’s offering in the early provision of the parish church. In the same homily, however, the archbishop himself presents as speculation the idea that the choice of Saint Paul as patron might be connected to Gim’s baptismal name, so that suggestion should not be treated as established history.

The official sources currently available provide only a concise early chronology centered on the parish’s establishment and the memory of its benefactor. Rather than filling in unverified construction or relocation details, the establishment of the parish in 1958 and the surviving evidence of lay generosity remain the clearest historical points in the story of Goseong.