Janghang Church

Overview

Janghang Church is a church in Janghang-eup, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, belonging to the Diocese of Daejeon. On December 15, 1943, it was elevated from the Janghang Catholic mission chapel to a parish, with the Sacred Heart of Mary as patron. Its jurisdiction is Janghang-eup and Maseo-myeon in Seocheon-gun, and with this elevation Seocheon parish was lowered to a mission chapel under the jurisdiction of Janghang parish.

History

[Mission chapel period and parish establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Kim Yeong-sik (Peter), the 2 pastor of Seocheon parish, judged that Janghang near Seocheon was more suitable for the development of the Church and worked to raise the Janghang mission chapel, founded in 1936, to a parish. Father Kim Yeong-sik purchased 2,400 pyeong of land at Yeongnakjeong (now Seongju-dong) in 1941 and built a small building, and when the Janghang mission chapel was raised to a parish in December 1943, Father Park Seong-chun became the first pastor. With the establishment of Janghang parish, Seocheon parish was demoted to a mission chapel under Janghang parish. The Digital Seocheon Culture Encyclopedia explains that Janghang Church was established to make the Janghang area the center of Catholic evangelization in Seocheon-gun as population concentrated and urbanization progressed on the basis of the Janghang railway line, the opening of Janghang Port, and the smelter. This source notes in its details the founding of the Janghang mission chapel in 1936 and the elevation of Janghang Church on December 15, 1943, while its main text gives the time of elevation as December 15, 1941, so the year appears differently within the same document.

[Church construction] Father Im Jong-gu, who became the 2 pastor in December 1946, saw that the faithful had difficulty offering Mass for lack of a church, and with the faithful drew up a new construction plan and began work on a 300-pyeong site at the present parish location, and on September 26, 1947 completed a tiled-roof church and held its dedication ceremony (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Seocheon Culture Encyclopedia states that in 1941 Father Kim Yeong-sik of Seocheon parish purchased land at Seongju-ri 531-2 and repaired an existing house for use as a mission chapel, and on September 26, 1947 completed a brick church on the site at Changseon 2-ri and held its blessing ceremony.

[Growth and division] Father E. Fromentoux, the 3 pastor, purchased church-owned fields in 1949 and bought land in preparation for the elevation of the Daecheon mission chapel to a parish. Father Yu Bong-un, the 4 pastor, built the Seocheon mission-chapel hall with the faithful of the Seocheon mission chapel in 1955. Father Lee In-ha, the 5 pastor, prepared a branch convent of the Sisters of the Martyr Blesseds in 1959 and with the evangelization association president worked to preach the Gospel in areas such as Seomyeon where there were no faithful, and together with Father Yu In-seong, the 5 pastor of Dangjin parish, conducted a retreat for the chapel leaders of 25 mission chapels in the jurisdiction. The Blessed Kindergarten opened in 1959 (closed in 1984), and in October 1962 the Daecheon (now Daecheon-dong, Boryeong) mission chapel was raised and separated as a parish. Father Gu Jeon-hoe, the 6 pastor, built the Jangsang-ri mission-chapel hall in 1965, and in December 1967 raised the Seocheon mission chapel again to a parish and separated it (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

[New church construction] Father Kim Jong-guk, the 9 pastor, newly built the church (1973), the convent (1974), and the rectory (1975), and Father Gu Ja-ryun, the 12 pastor, installed a statue of Mary and a stone altar in the church cemetery in 1987. Father Lee Sang-ryong, who became the 13 pastor in 1990, drew up a new church construction plan and held a groundbreaking ceremony in May of the following year, and in 1996 completed a 3-story church (1,003 pyeong) and held its dedication ceremony. Father Choe Ik-seon, the 15 pastor, completed an underground chapel in 2000 and held its consecration ceremony (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Seocheon Culture Encyclopedia states that it was replaced with a new cement-brick church in 1973 and a new church was built again in 1990, with the blessing ceremony celebrated by Bishop Gyeong Gap-ryong of the Diocese of Daejeon on November 17, 1996. This source explains that the church building was erected in 1990 under the leadership of Father Lee Sang-yong, with a total floor area of 3,344㎡ in a 3-story reinforced concrete building combining church, catechetical rooms, and rectory.

[Kindergarten and present status] According to the Digital Seocheon Culture Encyclopedia, the Blessed Kindergarten opened in 1959 operated until 1984 and then was discontinued, reopening was promoted in 2006, approval was granted in 2007, and in 2008 the ‘Haeseong Public Childcare Center’ opened. As of February 2024, the childcare center has a total floor area of 330㎡ and a building area of 195㎡, with 6 childcare rooms and a capacity of 73 children, and a Sister dispatched from the Sisters of the Martyr Blesseds serves as director. The jurisdiction of Janghang Church is all of Janghang-eup and Maseo-myeon, and by the end of 2022, 336 households and 732 faithful were registered.

[Church statistics and successive pastors] The statistics recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 2,107 faithful in 1965, 902 faithful in 1971, 1,056 faithful in 1976, 1,122 faithful in 1980, 1,328 faithful in 1984, 1,412 faithful in 1989, 1,390 faithful in 1993, 1,361 faithful in 1997, 965 faithful in 2001, with 1 mission chapel at Hanseong-ri. The successive priests are the first Park Seong-chun (Leo) (1943.12–1946.7), the 2 Im Jong-gu (Paul) (1946.12–1948.8), the 3 E. Fromentoux (Emilio) (1948.9–1953.9), the 4 Yu Bong-un (James) (1953.9–1958.4), the 5 Lee In-ha (Benedict) (1958.5–1964.5), the 6 Gu Jeon-hoe (Bartholomew) (1964.5–1966.3), the 7 Kim Yeong-gon (Philip) (1966.3–1968.12), the 8 Park No-yeol (Paul) (1968.12–1972.12), the 9 Kim Jong-guk (Barnabas) (1972.12–1975.8), the 10 Yun In-yong (Paul) (1975.8–1980.8), the 11 Yun Jong-su (John) (1980.8–1985.3), the 12 Gu Ja-yun (Pius) (1985.3–1990.8), the 13 Lee Sang-ryong (Philip) (1990.8–1997.1), the 14 Yun Jong-hak (Bernard) (1997.1–1998.2), the 15 Choe Ik-seon (Gregory) (1998.2–2003.1), and the 16 Lee Dae-geun (Longinus) (2003.1–) (as of the time of writing of the encyclopedia).

Related Places and People

• Seocheon parish: the mother parish of the Seocheon area founded in 1936, which became a mission chapel with the establishment of Janghang parish (1943) and was raised and separated again as a parish in December 1967 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Seocheon Culture Encyclopedia).
• Daecheon parish (now Daecheon-dong parish in Boryeong): the parish raised and separated as a parish from the Daecheon mission chapel under Janghang parish in October 1962 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Father Kim Yeong-sik (Peter): the 2 pastor of Seocheon parish who promoted the elevation of the Janghang mission chapel to a parish and purchased land in 1941 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Hanseong-ri mission chapel and Jangsang-ri mission chapel: Hanseong-ri mission chapel is the mission chapel under jurisdiction as of the time of writing of the encyclopedia, and for Jangsang-ri mission chapel a hall was newly built in 1965 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Korean Church History Research Institute, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia ‘Janghang Parish’. Founding of the mission chapel in 1936, elevation to a parish in 1943, completion of the church in 1947, separation of Daecheon and Seocheon, new church construction in the 1990s, statistics and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5378
2. Korean Studies Central Research Institute, Digital Seocheon Culture Encyclopedia ‘Janghang Church’. Background of establishment, construction and relocation of the church, new churches in 1990–96, Haeseong Public Childcare Center, status at the end of 2022.
   https://www.grandculture.net/seocheon/toc/GC09501320