Dunpo Church

Overview

Dunpo church is a church of the Daejeon Diocese located in Dunpo-ri, Dunpo-myeon, Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do. On August 20, 1976, the Dunpo Catholic mission chapel under Seonghwan Parish was elevated to a parish and established, and according to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, its patron is the Sacred Heart of Mary. The first pastor was Father Kim Sun-ho (Francis).

History

〔Formation of the mission chapel〕 The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that, as the persecution of Catholicism was coming to an end, a Catholic faith community emerged around 1890 in Deorimi in Dunpo (also called Deoreomi, present-day Gwandae-ri, Dunpo-myeon), and that Father Emile Pierre Devise’s year-end report shows that around 1900 a faith community also emerged in Dunpo-ri, Dunpo-myeon and was recognized as a Catholic mission chapel. The Dunpo mission chapel belonged in 1895 to Gongseri church, which had moved from Ganyang-gol, Yesan, developed through the Japanese colonial period, and from 1965 to 1976 it was a mission chapel belonging to Seonghwan church. The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism explains that this local faith community began as the Deoreomi mission chapel under Gongseri Parish, one of the early parishes in the Chungcheong-do region, and states that in 1965 it became the Dunpo mission chapel of Seonghwan Parish.

〔Elevation to a parish〕 According to the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia, after the faithful prepared for a long time for elevation to a parish, they first built a rectory in 1974, and on August 20, 1976 it was elevated to Dunpo church, with Kim Sun-ho (Francis) taking office as the first pastor. The founder is recorded as Bishop Hwang Min-seong (head of the Daejeon Diocese). The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism states that on August 20, 1976 it was separated from Seonghwan Parish and established. The two sources describe slightly differently the mission chapels incorporated as chapels under Dunpo church at that time. The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that it absorbed the Sodong mission chapel (Eumbong-myeon) and the Bongjae mission chapel (Dunpo-myeon), which had belonged to Onyang church, and the Sinnam mission chapel (Dunpo-myeon), the Changyong mission chapel (Yeongin-myeon) and the Masan mission chapel (Yeongin-myeon), which had belonged to Gongseri church, and made them chapels of Dunpo church, while the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism states that on September 16, 1976 the Sodong and Bongjae mission chapels of Onyang (present-day Oncheon) Parish and the Masan, Sinnam, Changyong and Honti mission chapels of Gongseri Parish were incorporated into Dunpo Parish.

〔Early facilities〕 The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism states that on September 20, 1976 a church with a size of 81 pyeong was completed and blessed, and the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that the church building was completed in September 1976. In 1978 a convent was newly built (the Encyclopedia describes it as erected), and the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism states that the following year, on March 3, 1979, a branch of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres was installed and began cooperating in pastoral ministry. The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that from 1979 sisters of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres were dispatched and carried out evangelization, but in 2015 the congregation withdrew as it stopped dispatching members because of a decrease in personnel. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, a Sunday school classroom was built in July 1981 and Sacred Heart Kindergarten opened in March 1984, and the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that this kindergarten closed in 1998.

〔Changes of the mission chapels〕 On September 18, 1988 the dedication ceremony for the Sinhyu-ri mission chapel hall was held (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism). The Sinhyu-ri mission chapel, the following year, on September 19, 1989, together with the Sodong mission chapel, had its affiliation changed to Seonghwan Parish (the Encyclopedia gives the date as September 19, and the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that in 1989 the Sodong and Sinhyu mission chapels had their affiliation changed to Seonghwan church). The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that in 1995 the nearby Sinnam mission chapel was closed.

〔Purchase of land and new construction of rectory and convent〕 As the church continued to expand and the existing church became too small, in 1990 land of 2,357 square meters (713 pyeong) at lot 260 in Dunpo-ri, located right in front of the church, was purchased (Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia. The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism also records it as a purchase of a site of 713 pyeong). The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism states that construction of a new rectory and convent began on May 29, 1995 and was completed in November. The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that in 2009 Sinjeong-ri and Wonnam-ri in Eumbong-myeon, which had been under Onyang church, were incorporated into Dunpo church’s jurisdiction.

〔Construction of the new church building〕 According to the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia, a committee for promoting church construction was formed in 2004, in 2013 an event commemorating the 37th anniversary of the parish’s establishment was held, and in February 2018 construction of a new church building, education hall, rectory and office began and was completed in November.

〔Activities〕 The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism states that the pastoral council consists of 12 divisions, including the liturgy division and the finance division, and that 14 devotional and action groups, including the Vocation Support Association and the Association for the Deceased, are organized, with about 32% of all the faithful joining each group and participating. The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that it carried out various activities such as evangelization and volunteer work by devotional groups including the Legion of Mary, the St. Paul Association, the Marian Association, Ultreya and the youth group, as well as Sunday school, summer faith school, Holy Spirit seminars, pilgrimages to holy places, Bible study school and special lectures during Lent and Advent, and that on this basis it produced 8 priests and many religious.

〔Church strength and successive pastors〕 The church strength recorded by the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism is 1,105 members in 1976, 1,382 members in 1982, 1,628 members in 1985, 1,525 members in 1990, and 1,593 members in 1994, and at that time the jurisdiction covered all of Dunpo-myeon in Asan-gun and parts of Yeongin-myeon and Eumbong-myeon, with mission chapels under its jurisdiction in 2 places, Masan and Changyong in Yeongin-myeon. The Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that the church strength, which was over 1,700 faithful on the parish register and over 870 attending faithful in 1997, declined from the 2000s, then increased again after 2010, recovering to over 1,700 on the register, and that the number of attending faithful was about 450 as of 2018. The successive pastors recorded by the Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia are 1th Kim Sun-ho (Francis, 1976–), 2th Yun Jong-su (John, 1978–), 3th Yu Yun-sik (Simon, 1980–), 4th Jeong Ho-yong (Roberto, 1982–), 5th Park Su-beom (Augustine, 1986–), 6th Lee Jae-yeong (John, 1988–), 7th Yun Seong-suk (Ludovico, 1989–), 8th An Sang-gil (John, 1989–), 9th Lee Bong-hyo (Francis, 1993–), 10th Bang Gyeong-seok (Aloysius, 1999–), 11th Kim Seong-heon (John, 2004–), 12th Park Seong-min (John Chrysostom, 2009–), 13th Han Yeong-seung (John, 2014–present, as of 2019). The Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism records the first, Kim Sun-ho Francis (1976.8–1978.9), 2th Yun Jong-su John (1978.9–1980.9), 3th Yu Yun-sik Simon (1980.9–1982.3), 4th Jeong Ho-yeong Roberto (1982.3–1986.8), 5th Plassier (A. Plassier, Park Su-beom) Augustine (1986.8–1988.2), 6th Lee Jae-yeong John the Apostle (1988.2–1989.2), 7th Yu Seong-suk Ludovico (1989.2–1991.3), 8th An Sang-gil Joseph (1991–1993.8), 9th Lee Bong-hyo Francis (1993.8–), noting that the name renderings and terms of some priests differ between the two sources.

Related places and people

• Seonghwan Parish: the parish to which the Dunpo mission chapel belonged from 1965 to 1976, and in 1989 the affiliation of the Sodong and Sinhyu (-ri) mission chapels was changed from Dunpo to Seonghwan (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Gongseri Parish: the parish where the Dunpo area faith community started as a mission chapel under its jurisdiction, and at the establishment of Dunpo church, mission chapels of Gongseri Parish were incorporated into Dunpo church (Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Onyang Parish: it handed over the Sodong and Bongjae mission chapels at the establishment of Dunpo church, and in 2009 Sinjeong-ri and Wonnam-ri in Eumbong-myeon, which had been under its jurisdiction, were incorporated into Dunpo church’s jurisdiction (Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Deorimi (Deoreomi): the place where a Catholic faith community emerged around 1890, present-day Gwandae-ri, Dunpo-myeon (Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).

References and sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism “Dunpo Parish” (vol. 3). Separation from Seonghwan Parish and establishment on August 20, 1976, patron, jurisdiction and mission chapels, founding and development process, church strength statistics, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1506
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia “Dunpo church”. Formation of mission chapels and changes in affiliation, elevation to a parish in 1976, incorporation of mission chapels, dispatch of sisters, land purchase and completion of the new church building in 2018, activities and church strength, successive pastors.
   https://www.grandculture.net/asan/toc/GC07101459