Sangjiwon Mission

History & origins

Sangjiwon began in 1959 as a settlement for people affected by Hansen’s disease. According to records of the Diocese of Jeonju, as residents established a place to live, a Catholic community also took root, and the mission station became more than a place of worship: it served as a center binding together the life of the settlement. The early chapel was rebuilt over time, and the building now in use is the third mission chapel on the site.

The present chapel was erected in 1983. Construction costs were met through small contributions gathered by residents together with public subsidies, and the residents themselves also contributed labor. The chapel was therefore not simply a facility provided from outside but a project in which the settlement community directly participated. An education center, convent, and rectory were also established nearby, creating a setting where faith, education, and pastoral care could take place within the same compound.

In 1988, the “Yeongbo House of Grace” was completed within the community and began receiving elderly residents the following year. Although the population later declined and aged, the arrangement of the chapel and residential-care facilities continues to reflect Sangjiwon’s historical character. Its history records how a Hansen’s disease settlement became intertwined with a Catholic community and how residents jointly built both a liturgical space and a system of mutual care.