Onyang Yonghwa-dong Church

Overview

Onyang Yonghwadong Church is a church in Yonghwa-dong, Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, belonging to the Diocese of Daejeon, and was separated from Onyang Parish and established on August 29, 1985. Its patron is John the Baptist, and it was first called Yonghwa Parish but was renamed to ‘Onyang Yonghwadong’ on December 2000. It spun off Onyang Bangchuk-dong Parish (now Sinjeong-dong) in 2004 and Onyang Punggi-dong Parish in 2011.

History

[Parish establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, as the inflowing population in the Onyang area grew and Onyang Oncheon Parish (now Onyang) became saturated, the diocese established Onyang Yonghwadong Parish on August 29, 1985 and appointed Father An Sang-cheol as the first pastor. At establishment the name was Yonghwa Parish, but in 1994 the name was changed to Asan Yonghwadong, and on December 2000 the old place name Onyang was added to change it again to ‘Onyang Yonghwadong’. Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that on August 29, 1985 Yonghwadong Church was newly established, separated from Onyang Church at the same time as Mosan Church, with jurisdiction over Yonghwa-dong (Onyang 2-dong, part of Onyang 4-dong, Onyang 5-dong), Gisan-dong, Chosa-dong, Sinin-dong, and Changam-ri, Sinchang-myeon. It explains that the faith tradition of the Naepo Catholic Church was passed from Gongseri Church to Onyang Church and inherited by Onyang Yonghwadong Church.

[Temporary chapel and new church construction] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that Father An Sang-cheol completed a temporary building at lot 192-1, Oncheon 2-dong on September 27, 1985 and offered Mass, and that the diocese and the parish establishment committee purchased 800 pyeong of land at the present parish site on two occasions, on February and August of the following year. As parishioners increased and it became difficult to offer Mass in the temporary building, construction began on August 1989 and a church with 1 basement floor and 3 above-ground floors (753 pyeong) was completed on November 5, 1991 and a dedication ceremony was held. On September 1989 a branch convent of the Benedictine Sisters of Busan was prepared. Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that at first an apartment was rented temporarily for use as the rectory and a temporary prefabricated building was built on September for use as the chapel, and that on February 1986 about 800 pyeong of land at lot 181-1, Oncheon-dong was purchased as the site for the new church. It says that a 1 bazaar was held on October 1988 and the present church site was newly purchased on December, construction of the new chapel began in 1989 and the first Mass was offered on December in the basement of the chapel whose 1 phase of construction had been carried out. It says that a 2 bazaar was held on May 1990, the present new church including the rectory and convent was completed on November 1991 and a consecration Mass was offered, and a 3 bazaar was held on October 1992.

[Later pastoral care] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 2 pastor Father Kim Shin-ho judged that the external foundation had been laid to some extent and worked for interior consolidation, and as a result the activities of groups such as the Legion of Mary were revitalized. The 3 pastor Father Seo Yong-tae organized a Holy Spirit prayer group in 2000 and regularly held diocesan-level Holy Spirit prayer meetings, and in 2001 distributed to parishioners an environmental practice sheet titled ‘Using with Gratitude the Gifts the Lord Has Given’ as part of environmental activism. Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that Onyang Bangchuk-dong Church (now Onyang Sinjeong-dong Church) was separated and established on February 2004 and Onyang Punggi-dong Church was separated and established on January 2011. It took over the management rights of the Yonghwadong park cemetery at mountain lot 96-1, which Onyang Church had been developing and managing since 1962, carried out landscaping work on November 1987, prepared a tree-burial facility in 2007, and erected a statue of Mary on October 2009. In 2006 the rectory and convent were remodeled, in 2012 a bazaar was held to raise funds for church repairs, and in 2015 stained-glass work was done.

[Church strength, jurisdiction and successive priests] The jurisdiction recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is Oncheon 2-dong, Sirok-dong, Onju-dong, and part of Yonghwa-dong, and the church statistics are 1,857 persons in 1985, 2,120 persons in 1991, 2,919 persons in 1997, and 3,127 persons in 2000. Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia states that from 1989 to 2018 a total of 38 sisters of the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters were appointed to the convent, that in 2016 there were about 2,000 registered parishioners with about 600 Sunday Mass attendees, and that as of 2018 there were about 2,100 registered parishioners with about 580 Sunday Mass attendees. The successive priests in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first Michael An Sang-cheol (1985.8–1992.3), the 2 Francis Kim Shin-ho (1992.3–1998.2), the 3 Thaddeus Seo Yong-tae (1998.2–2002.2), and the 4 John the Baptist Jo Gyu-sik (2002.2–present). Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia additionally lists the 5 Paul Yun In-yong (2006–2010), the 6 Beda In Won-mu (2011–2014), and the 7 Gabriel Yun Seong-gyun (2015–2019 present). Here ‘present’ means the time of writing of each source.

Related Places and People

• Onyang Parish (Onyang Oncheon Parish): the mother parish from which Yonghwadong Parish was separated in 1985. Mosan Parish was also separated at the same time (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Onyang Sinjeong-dong Parish (former Bangchuk-dong Parish) and Onyang Punggi-dong Parish: parishes spun off from Onyang Yonghwadong Parish (Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).
• Yonghwadong park cemetery (mountain lot 96-1): Onyang Church had been developing it since 1962, and Yonghwadong Parish took over the management rights in 1987 (Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Onyang Yonghwadong Parish” (vol. 9). Parish establishment and name changes in 1985, Mass in a temporary building and church dedication in 1991, convent, church statistics, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4656
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Asan Culture Encyclopedia “Onyang Yonghwadong Church”. Separation in 1985 and jurisdiction, church construction process, spin-offs, cemetery management and facilities, church strength status, successive pastors.
   https://www.grandculture.net/asan/toc/GC07101464