About this place
The Augustinian community in Seonwon-myeon, Ganghwa, is identified in the official Catholic directory of Korea as the St. Nicholas of Tolentine Monastery and house of formation. Although located within the Diocese of Incheon, it is not a parish but a house for the religious life and formation of the Order of St. Augustine. Its essential character is that of a community where friars pray and live together while continuing the formation of candidates and members of the order.
The Order of St. Augustine follows the Rule and communal spirituality associated with St. Augustine, joining common prayer, fraternal life, and apostolic service. The Ganghwa monastery has a role distinct from an ordinary parish church because of its function as a formation house. Visitors will understand the place more accurately by seeing it not primarily as a local parish but as a monastery within the Diocese of Incheon where the Augustinian community carries out its spiritual and formative mission.
History & origins
The history of the Order of St. Augustine in Korea began with an invitation from the Diocese of Incheon in the 1980s. According to The Catholic Times, Bishop William J. McNaughton of Incheon asked the order in 1983 to establish a presence in Korea, and priests from the Australian and British-Scottish provinces arrived in September 1985 to form the first community. From 1990, the formation of Korean candidates began in earnest, giving the order a lasting local foundation.
In 1994 the Augustinians built a monastery in Jeondong, Incheon, establishing a stable base for the Korean community. As the work of formation expanded, a house of studies was built on Ganghwa Island in 1998 for Augustinian brothers studying at the seminary in Incheon. The fact that the official directory now calls the Ganghwa site the “St. Nicholas of Tolentine Monastery / House of Formation” shows the continuity of that formative purpose.
The history of the Ganghwa monastery is therefore more than the story of a building. It belongs to the broader process by which the Augustinians, after coming to Korea, formed local vocations and established a permanent religious community. With the Incheon motherhouse and the Ganghwa formation community in place, the order developed a structure that supported formation alongside apostolates such as parish ministry, retreats, spiritual direction, and education.
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Building information
- Passenger elevators: 1
- 2 above-ground floors · 0 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 2025
- Total floor area: 1,055㎡
Building-register record · · Source
Accessibility information
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Sources and updates
- Information Status
- Official
- Source
- Official source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
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- 한국천주교주교회의 온라인 주소록
Diocese
Incheon Diocese (Diocese of Incheon)
Official website: http://www.caincheon.or.kr
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