Tongjin Church

History & origins

In the early 1960s, after the Diocese of Incheon was established, new parishes were created across its broad territory, including Gimpo and the island regions. Tongjin Parish emerged in this period of expansion and became an independent parish after being separated from Gimpo Parish in 1965. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia and the current Directory of the Catholic Church in Korea give different month-and-day dates for the foundation, but they agree that the parish was formed in 1965 from Gimpo Parish and became a pastoral center for the Tongjin area.

After its establishment, Tongjin took responsibility for nearby mission communities. In the same year, the Yanggok mission station was transferred to Tongjin Parish. Father R. Bouleris of Tongjin sent sisters of the Inbo Eucharistic congregation to Yanggok and organized lay apostolic groups, helping the community develop a more stable liturgical, educational, and apostolic life. This shows that the parish’s role went beyond administering territory and included strengthening mission stations so that they could grow in their own right.

With increasing numbers of Catholics and sustained efforts by the local community, Yanggok was elevated to an independent parish in 1987. The history of Tongjin Parish can therefore be read as a sequence that began with the division of parishes in the Gimpo area in the 1960s and continued through the growth of neighboring communities and the creation of another parish. That continuity illustrates Tongjin’s role in the formation of Catholic communities in northwestern Gimpo.