Hayang Church

History & origins

Hayang Parish was established on May 6, 1928. Father Jean Marie Hamon, known in Korea as John Ha Jae-an, of the Paris Foreign Missions Society served there from 1929 to 1943 during the parish’s early years. He secured the present church site and, with support from his native France, built the church that stands today. The early community’s effort to obtain a stable liturgical space was thus supported by both overseas missionary aid and the life of faith of local Catholics.

In 1955, Father Felix Lee Im-chun became pastor and served until 1971. In a Hayang community deeply affected by postwar poverty, he believed that local people needed not only relief but also opportunities for self-reliance and education, and he developed social projects including the operation of a farm at Muhaksan. He then founded Muhak Middle School in 1966 and later played a central role in the establishment of Muhak High School in 1975, extending the parish’s activity into local education.

The parish celebrated the ninetieth anniversary of its foundation in 2018, and in 2020 an existing facility was renovated and blessed as the educational center called “John Felix Hall.” Its name commemorates both Father John Ha Jae-an, who worked to build the church, and Father Felix Lee Im-chun, who devoted himself to education and social service. The history of Hayang Catholic Church thus remains a story in which church construction, parish ministry, postwar welfare, and education became interconnected and rooted in the local community.