Jisandong Church

Overview

Jisan-dong Church is a church in Jisan-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, belonging to the Archdiocese of Gwangju. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and the Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia, it was separated from Namdong Parish and established on November 16, 1970, and the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records the parish patron as the 103 Korean Martyrs.

History

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in the mid-1960s, when the plan to relocate the court to Jisan-dong, an area under the jurisdiction of Namdong Parish, was announced, a housing complex was formed in the area and the population increased rapidly. To prepare for the establishment of a parish, the Archdiocese of Gwangju purchased a total 930-pyeong site at 446-2·4 and 447-2, Jisan-dong, Gwangju City, on March 11, 1967, with foreign aid. Construction of a new church began on October 15, 1970, and in November it was designated as a parish, with Father Lee Sang-cheol (Hilario) appointed as the first pastor.

Father Lee completed the church, the 40-pyeong rectory, the 16-pyeong catechism room, and the 16-pyeong prospective convent building on December 20, 1970, and celebrated the blessing ceremony. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives the size of the church as 60 pyeong, while the Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia gives it as 58 pyeong (192㎡), adding that the rectory was 132㎡ and the catechism room and the convent were 53㎡ each. The Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia records that at the time of its establishment, its jurisdiction included Jisan-dong, Dongmyeong 1-dong, part of Sansu-dong, and other areas in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, with 820 faithful and a church site of 2,965㎡. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the first pastor organized a pastoral council, divided the jurisdiction into 5 bans, and founded the Marian Association, the St. Anna Association, the Youth Association, the Student Association, and others. Taking the Queen of Angels Praesidium, separated from Namdong Parish, as the mother unit, the Queen of Martyrs Praesidium composed of students was also founded.

The 2 pastor, Father Kim Hui-bae, designated the 103 Korean Martyrs as the parish patron on September 26, 1972, and in December 1974 a Sister of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was dispatched to the parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia records that on May 6, 1984, the parish became a memorial church for the 103 Korean Martyrs.

The 3 pastor, Father Kim Chung-ho, felt the need to build a new church as the number of faithful grew, launched a new church construction promotion committee on April 27, 1977, and held the groundbreaking ceremony on September 17, 1978. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the construction was carried out with outside assistance, donations from the faithful, and proceeds from the sale of part of the parish land, was completed on September 9, 1979, with a blessing ceremony, and the diocese sponsored an exhibition of Korean Catholic historical materials and martyrs’ relics at the parish. The Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia gives different dates, noting in its metadata the blessing ceremony of the new sanctuary dedicated to the Blessed Korean Martyrs on September 9, 1978 (officiated by the 7 Archbishop Yun Gong-hui), and explaining in its main text that construction was carried out on September 19, 1979, as the number of faithful grew, and that to commemorate its completion, the diocese-sponsored exhibition of Korean Catholic historical materials and martyrs’ relics was held.

According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 4 pastor, Father Jang Ji-gwon, created a Lourdes Grotto statue and carried out landscaping of the grounds on May 31, 1982, founded the Jisan-dong Catholic Church Credit Union in April 1983, and completed the Seongmo Village Catholic mission chapel in May. The 5 pastor, Father Lee Yeong-su, repaired the Lourdes Grotto and installed a fountain in November 1986 and newly built the parish office and the credit union office, and in March 1987 founded the monthly bulletin “Jisan Family” for use as material for ban meetings. He held the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the education hall and the church on April 3, 1988, and completed the work on November 28, celebrating the blessing ceremony. The Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia explains that the number of faithful surged in 1985, and that the church was expanded in 1988 to attain its present appearance.

The 7 pastor, Father Kang Gil-ung, purchased land at 445-9, Jisan 2-dong, for a new convent on August 9, 1994, published the parish 25-year history on December 25, 1995, and held the groundbreaking ceremony for the new convent on July 21, 1996 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia also records that in 1995 the “Jisan-dong Parish 25-Year History” was compiled to mark the 25 anniversary of the parish’s establishment. The 8 pastor, Father Jang Yong-bok, separated and established Sansu-dong Parish on February 4, 1997, transferring 515 households and 1,346 faithful to the new parish, and in December of the same year held unveiling ceremonies for statues of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Father Kim Dae-geon, and the Virgin Mary. The Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia records that, with the establishment of Sansu-dong Church, 540 households and 1,428 people (506 men and 922 women) moved out as a branch from February 21, 1997 to November 26, figures for households and persons that differ from those in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia states that the 9 pastor, Father Yu Gi-jong, took elderly faithful of the parish on a consolation trip to Sorokdo on May 14, 2002.

According to the Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia, Father Choe Yong-hwan (Donald) took office as the 15 pastor as of January 17, 2019.

Religious Meaning and Visiting Context

The Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia explains that Jisan-dong Church was established to spread the Gospel in the Jisan 1-dong, Jisan 2-dong, Sansu 1-dong, Dongmyeong-dong, Seoseok-dong, and Hak-dong areas of Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, and in part of Hwaam-dong in Buk-gu. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives its jurisdiction as all of Jisan 1·2-dong, Chunghyo-dong, Deogui-dong, Geumgok-dong, Hwaam-dong, and Cheongpung-dong, and parts of Sansu 1·14-dong and Dongmyeong 1-dong.

The church statistics recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 872 people in 1971, 2,002 people in 1976, 2,244 people in 1981, 4,353 people in 1986, 6,209 people in 1991, 6,203 people in 1996, and 4,510 people in 2002. According to the Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia, as of December 2015 the parish had 2,585 households and 4,443 faithful in total, with major groups including the John Bosco Society, the Golomba Society, the Daegeon Society, the Joseph Society, and others, and it communicates with the local community through events such as dementia-prevention checkups and concerts.

Related Places and People

• Namdong Church: the parish from which Jisan-dong Parish was separated in 1970.
• Sansu-dong Church: separated from Jisan-dong Parish and established in 1997.
• Seongmo Village Catholic mission chapel: completed in May 1983 during the tenure of the 4 pastor of Jisan-dong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

The successive pastors as listed by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are as follows. First: Lee Sang-cheol, Hilario (1970.10~1972.4), 2: Kim Hui-bae, John (1972.4~1976.11), 3: Kim Chung-ho, Michael (1976.11~1980.2), 4: Jang Ji-gwon, John (1980.2~1984.1), 5: Lee Yeong-su, John (1984.1~1989.8), 6: Park Sang-su, Cosmas (1989.8~1994.2), 7: Kang Gil-ung, John (1994.2~1997.2), 8: Jang Yong-bok, Michael (1997.2~2002.1), 9: Yu Gi-jong, Joseph (2002.1~, listed as “present” in the encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Jisan-dong Parish.” Separation from Namdong Parish and establishment on November 16, 1970, patron the 103 Korean Martyrs, jurisdiction, church statistics, successive priests, land purchase and church construction in 1970, new church construction in 1978~1979, expansion in 1988, and separation of Sansu-dong Parish in 1997 were confirmed.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/5815
2. Digital Gwangju Cultural Encyclopedia, “Jisan-dong Church.” Time of establishment and early size, memorial church for the 103 Korean Martyrs in 1984, expansion in 1988, compilation of the “Jisan-dong Parish 25-Year History” in 1995, branch removals to Sansu-dong in 1997, number of faithful in 2015, and assumption of the 15 pastor in 2019 were confirmed.
   https://gwangju.grandculture.net/gwangju/toc/GC60003282