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History & origins

The Society of St. Paul is the men's religious institute of the Pauline Family founded in Italy by Blessed James Alberione. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea records its foundation date as August 20, 1914. From its beginnings, the institute developed publishing and media apostolates according to its charism of using new means of communication for the proclamation of the Gospel.

Its entry into Korea is recorded as January 15, 1962. The Korean community subsequently broadened its work in the Church through media ministries including publishing and Catholic bookstores. St. Paul Bookstore continues today as one of the apostolates operated directly by the Society.

The Daegu community was established much later, on June 30, 2018. The Catholic directory explicitly gives this date for the “Society of St. Paul, Daegu Community,” making clear that the present place is a local community in Daegu rather than the founding house of the Korean province.

The history of this site is therefore best understood in two layers: the wider history of the Society, founded in 1914 and present in Korea from 1962, and the local history beginning with the establishment of the Daegu community in 2018. The Daegu community was formed to continue the Society's long media-evangelization tradition within the local Church.