Hamyeol Catholic Church

History & origins

Catholic communities had existed in the Hamyeol, Yongan, and Impi areas since the persecution era, as believers moved there to avoid government surveillance and formed Catholic villages and mission stations. The Catholic Encyclopedia records priestly visits to communities around Andaedong in the late nineteenth century and notes that Andaedong Mission Station became part of Nabawi Parish after that parish was established in 1897.

Because Catholics in the southern Iksan and Impi areas lived far from Nabawi, plans were made for a new parish to provide better access to the sacraments. Andaedong Parish was formally established on October 19, 1910, with Fr. Seo Byeong-ik as its first pastor. Current Diocese of Jeonju records retain that same date as the establishment date of today’s Hamyeol Parish, making clear the historical continuity between Andaedong and Hamyeol.

The parish center moved to the Hamyeol area in 1959. A temporary church was used while a new church was prepared, and the new building was dedicated in October of that year, as the parish took the name Hamyeol. It has since continued as the parish serving a broad rural area of northern Iksan. Although its name and physical center changed, its roots lie in the much longer history of persecution-era Catholic villages and the Andaedong mission station and parish.