Sunggeon Catholic Church

Overview

Seonggeon Church is a church in Seonggeon-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, belonging to the Archdiocese of Daegu. It was separated and established from Gyeongju Parish (now Seongdong Parish) on September 1, 1983, and its patron is Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon. Connected with the plan to build churches commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Church in Korea, it completed its church in the same year on October 30 and dedicated it.

History

[Mission-chapel era] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the Danseoksan area of Sannae-myeon, Gyeongju, together with neighboring Eonyang, had already formed a faith community before the Byeongin Persecution in 1866. During the Byeongin Persecution, Heo In-baek (James), Kim Jong-ryun (Luke) and Yi Yang-deung (Peter) were arrested at Daejae (Jukryeong) in Eonyang and martyred in Ulsan; after the persecution their remains were recovered and buried at Ansan in Jinmokjeong, Sannae-myeon, and later moved in 1932 to the Church cemetery in Gamcheon-ri, Daegu. Jinmokjeong, now under Seonggeon Parish, was established as a Catholic mission chapel in 1883 by Father Robert (Kim Bo-rok) of Daegu, and at that time nearby were the Ujunggol and Saeteogol mission chapels and the Seonpil mission chapel in Ulju. Around 1910, mission chapels were also established at Beomgok and Wahang in Daehyeon-ri, Sannae-myeon, and at Bilgi in Biji-ri, Naenam-myeon, and in 1913 the “Gyeongju mission chapel” (the predecessor of the present Seongdong Parish) was established. The Jinmokjeong mission chapel belonged to Busanjin Parish (now Beomil Parish) and then, when Gyeongju Parish was established on May 30, 1926, remained under that parish for a long time thereafter.

[Parish establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, as the number of faithful increased in the early 1980s, Father Park Do-sik (Dominic), pastor of Gyeongju Parish, felt the need to divide the parish and, in consultation with the parish pastoral council, announced the creation of a new parish effective January 1, 1982. As the diocese was also planning to build churches commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Catholic Church in Korea, with diocesan support it secured 440 pyeong of land for the present parish site on December 2, 1982, and the following year began church construction work from March. With the establishment of Seonggeon Parish effective September 1, 1983, Father Lee Yong-ho was appointed as the first pastor, and the above mission chapels were also transferred to Seonggeon Parish at that time. The establishment date September 1, 1983 is also listed in the address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea and in the parish information of the Archdiocese of Daegu.

[Church dedication and early development] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that Seonggeon Parish launched its parish bulletin on October 2, 1983 and completed its church on October 30, celebrating the dedication ceremony presided over by Archbishop Seo Jeong-gil (Paul). On December 1984 it provided a branch house for the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Pohang, and the following year held the blessing of the convent and catechesis rooms on June 23.

[Jinmokjeong Pilgrims’ House and separation of Hwangseong Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 3th pastor, Father Jang Hwan-myeong, with diocesan support began the retreat-house construction that had been promoted since the time of Father Chae Yeong-hui, and provided the “Jinmokjeong Pilgrims’ House” on July 1992; on the basis of the new church site donated on November 8, 1991 by parishioner Choe Hak-yo (Francis), he promoted the division of the parish and, with the separation of “Hwangseong Parish” effective October 7, 1993, transferred 301 households and 829 parishioners’ registers. The 4th pastor, Father Park Seok-jae, with diocesan support newly built the “Jinmokjeong Retreat House” on September 30, 1995 and laid out a campsite, and the following year newly built the hall of the Bilgi mission chapel and erected a prefabricated catechesis room on June.

[Jurisdiction and statistics] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives the jurisdiction at the time of the parish’s establishment as Seonggeon-dong, Gwangmyeong-dong, Seokjang-dong, Chunghyo-dong and Seoak-dong, all of Geoncheon-eup, Naenam-myeon, Sannae-myeon and Seo-myeon in Gyeongju-gun, and part of Seobu-dong, and the affiliated mission chapels as the 7 places of Jinmok, Uigok, Beomgok, Wahang, Bilgi, Dori and Geoncheon, and gives the statistics as 1,013 people in 1983, 1,749 people in 1987, 2,761 people in 1991, 2,138 people in 1994, and 2,479 people in 1997. The address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists the present jurisdiction as all of Seokjang-dong and Seonggeon-dong and part of Seobu-dong in Gyeongju, the number of faithful as 990, the number of mission chapels as 1, and the affiliated congregation as the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

[Successive pastors] The successive pastors as recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first, Lee Yong-ho (Gabriel) (1983.9–1987.1), the 2th, Chae Yeong-hui (Joseph) (1987.1–1989.7), the 3th, Jang Hwan-myeong (Joseph) (1989.7–1993.10), the 4th, Park Seok-jae (Charles) (1993.10–1996.9), and the 5th, Jeong Seong-hae (Peter) (1996.9–at the time the encyclopedia was compiled).

Architecture and Space

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Seonggeon Parish began construction on March 1983 on the 440-pyeong site secured on December 2, 1982, and completed and dedicated its church on October 30, 1983. It provided the “Jinmokjeong Pilgrims’ House” (retreat house) on July 1992 and the “Jinmokjeong Retreat House” with a campsite on September 1995.

Related Places and Figures

• Gyeongju (now Seongdong) Parish: the mother parish established on May 30, 1926, from which Seonggeon Parish was separated in 1983 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jinmokjeong mission chapel: established as a mission chapel in 1883 by Father Robert, under Gyeongju Parish from 1926 and under Seonggeon Parish from 1983. The remains of the Byeongin martyrs Heo In-baek, Kim Jong-ryun and Yi Yang-deung were buried here and later moved in 1932 to the Church cemetery in Gamcheon-ri, Daegu (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Hwangseong Parish: separated from Seonggeon Parish effective October 7, 1993 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Robert (Robert, Kim Bo-rok): the priest of Daegu who established Jinmokjeong as a mission chapel in 1883 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Heo In-baek (James), Kim Jong-ryun (Luke) and Yi Yang-deung (Peter): faithful arrested at Daejae in Eonyang during the Byeongin Persecution and martyred in Ulsan (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Seonggeon-dong Parish” (Vol. 7). Mission-chapel era including Jinmokjeong, parish establishment and church dedication in 1983, Jinmokjeong Pilgrims’ House, separation of Hwangseong Parish, statistics, jurisdiction and successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3266
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Catholic Directory in Korea, “Seonggeon” (Archdiocese of Daegu). Establishment date 1983.9.1, patron Saint Andrew Kim Dae-geon, number of faithful, number of mission chapels, congregation and jurisdiction.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&gubn=4&gyogu=201000021&code=201000836&gubn2=all&char=all
3. Archdiocese of Daegu, Parish Information, “Seonggeon”. Establishment date September 1, 1983.
   https://www.daegu-archdiocese.or.kr/page/area.html?menu=c4&number=89&premenu&srl=church_search