Hyeonpung Catholic Church

History & origins

Hyeonpung Parish was established on February 9, 1969. Father John Kim Yeong-ok arrived as the first pastor, led the new community, and provided its first church, laying the foundations of an independent parish. Around the new parish, Catholics in the Hyeonpung area organized Mass, catechesis, and community life and gradually broadened the local foundation for evangelization.

After Father Moses Heo Yeon-gu became pastor in July 1977, the church was enlarged so that the second floor could be used as the worship space and the lower floor as catechetical classrooms. The change responded to growing pastoral and educational needs. Later, Father Kim Yeong-ok returned as pastor after roughly twenty years and constructed a new church, bringing another major transformation to the parish facilities.

About twenty-five years after the new church was built, the building was remodeled during the pastorate of Father John An Byeong-gwon, with changes to the sanctuary and circulation around the entrances. Around the same period, a new rectory and kindergarten were provided, and the former church was renovated for use as an education hall. The 2014 blessing Mass for the altar and kindergarten offered an occasion to recall these changes and illustrates how Hyeonpung Parish repeatedly adapted its liturgical and educational spaces as the number of Catholics and the surrounding community changed.