About this place
Namdong May 18 Memorial Catholic Church refers to the historical and commemorative identity attached to Namdong Catholic Church in Dong-gu, Gwangju, and is recognized by the Archdiocese of Gwangju as a historic site. The archdiocese explains that during the May 18 Democratic Uprising of 1980, Namdong Catholic Church became an important place where clergy and civic figures met to discuss responses to the crisis and where efforts were made to communicate what was happening in Gwangju to the outside world.
Fr. Kim Seong-yong, then pastor of Namdong Parish, worked to record and publicize the events, and in the years that followed the church continued to host memorial Masses, exhibitions, lectures, and gatherings. In recognition of this history, the site was designated by Gwangju City as a historic place of the May 18 Democratic Uprising in 2005, and the archdiocese proclaimed it a May 18 memorial church.
This target therefore does not refer to a separate newly built church, but to the May 18 historical identity of the existing Namdong parish church. Today it is both an active Catholic parish and a place for remembering the victims, the democratic struggle, and the social witness of the local Church during that period.
History & origins
During the May 18 Democratic Uprising of 1980, Namdong Catholic Church was one of the places where church figures and members of civil society gathered in efforts to respond to the crisis in Gwangju and communicate what was happening to the outside world. The Archdiocese of Gwangju records that Fr. Kim Seong-yong, then pastor of Namdong Parish, and other church and civic figures met there to discuss responses and worked to make the events in Gwangju known.
After the uprising, memorial Masses, photographic exhibitions, lectures, and gatherings continued at Namdong Catholic Church to remember the victims and reflect on the meaning of the events. These activities extended its significance beyond its role during May 1980 and gradually established the church as a place where the local community preserved the memory of the democratic movement.
On the basis of this accumulated history, Namdong Catholic Church was designated by Gwangju Metropolitan City in 2005 as a historic site of the May 18 Democratic Uprising, and the Archdiocese of Gwangju also proclaimed it a May 18 Memorial Catholic Church. The name ‘Namdong May 18 Memorial Catholic Church’ therefore signifies the formally recognized historical and commemorative identity of the existing Namdong church rather than the construction of a separate new church.
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- 한국천주교주교회의 온라인 주소록
Diocese
Gwangju Archdiocese (Archdiocese of Gwangju)
Official website: https://www.gjcatholic.or.kr/
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