Taepyeong-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Taepyeong-dong Church is a church in Taepyeong-dong, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, belonging to the Diocese of Masan. Separated from Okpo Parish in May 1929 and established as Sinjeong Parish, it passed through the names Tongyeong and Chungmu and received its present name in March 1985, and its patron is Our Lady, Queen of the Rosary. It has jurisdiction over the Yokji Catholic mission chapel, and Daegeon Parish in 1985 and Buksindong Parish in 1995 were separated from this parish.

History

[Mission-chapel era] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the preaching of the Gospel in the Tongyeong area began in 1925 when Yun Won-jung, who lived in Jeongnyang-ri, Tongyeong-gun, went to the Gohyeon area of Geoje for the harvest, learned doctrine and liturgy at a farmhouse that seemed to be a Catholic mission chapel, received baptism, and then evangelized Kang Hun-ik, with whom he was on familiar terms. In the same year, Kim Bong-seo (Joseph), who lived in Dongdeori, was baptized in Daegu and returned, formed ties with Yun Won-jung and Kang Hun-ik, and first established a Catholic mission chapel at the house of Jeong Seong-jip (Anthony) in Dongdeori. In 1928, a Catholic mission chapel was established at Yun Won-jung’s house and the existing chapel was moved there, and Kang Hun-ik’s house in Dongdeori was also extensively remodeled and established as a Catholic mission chapel.

[Establishment of the parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, as church strength grew, Father Kim Hu-sang (Paul), pastor of Okpo Parish, built a wooden building of 20 pyeong at lot No. 248 in Sinjeong-ri, Tongyeong-myeon (now Seocho-dong) on May 25, 1929, and separated and established Sinjeong Parish. The first pastor was Father Song Nam-ho, and he organized a choir. In April 1931, as Tongyeong-myeon was raised to Tongyeong-eup, the parish name was changed from Sinjeong to Tongyeong. The Masan Diocese lay column (parish pilgrimage) also writes that this parish was established as Sinjeong Church in May 1929. The Encyclopedia writes that the 2 pastor, Father Yi Min-du, newly built the rectory and annex buildings.

[Acquisition and relocation of a Japanese temple] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 5 pastor, Father Jeong Su-gil, looked for vested houses in order to obtain a larger church after Liberation, discovered a temple built by Japanese people (the present parish site), and worked to acquire it, and the 6 pastor, Father Park Dong-jun, received that temple by government sale in 1947 and, after extensively remodeling its interior, moved the church there. The Masan Diocese column recounts as a handed-down story that at the end of 1945, a U.S. military chaplain passing by noticed a papal flag hung at the church, visited, and promised to arrange a vested house, and as a result the parish acquired the Japanese temple “Myeongjeungsa,” remodeled only the interior of the temple, and used it as a church until 1969. This column writes that the bell of that temple, after the completion of the new sanctuary, was moved among newly established Catholic mission chapels in the island area under its jurisdiction, and then returned to the parish bell tower in 2004.

[Name changes and affiliation changes] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, on September 1, 1955, as Tongyeong-eup was raised to Chungmu-si, the parish name was changed from Tongyeong to Chungmu. The Masan Diocese column writes that it was renamed Chungmu Church after Liberation, so the expression of timing differs. According to the Encyclopedia, on January 21, 1957, as the Busan Vicariate was established, affiliation changed from the Daegu Vicariate to the new vicariate, and on February 15, 1966, as the Diocese of Masan was established, affiliation changed to the new diocese. In 1957, the Legion of Mary was introduced for the first time in the parish and the Praesidia of Tower of David, Queen of Martyrs, and Queen of Fatima were founded, and from June 17 of the same year the parish took over Hansan Girls’ Middle School, which had been operated at Chungnyeolsa Shrine in Tongyeong, and changed, established, and operated it as Chungnyeol Girls’ Middle School and Chungnyeol Girls’ Commercial High School.

[Early 1950s to 1960s activities] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in 1951 sisters of the Sisters of the Blessed Korean Martyrs who had taken refuge in the parish during the Korean War operated Seongmo Kindergarten and the Blessed Dressmaking Academy, and in 1953 organized the Sacred Heart of Mary Association centered on women believers. In January 1960, the Chilseong Association was dissolved and reorganized and a youth group called the Chusaimang Association was organized. The 7 pastor, Father Jeong Sam-gyu, devoted himself to visiting the homes of lapsed Catholics, and the 8 pastor, Father Ham Yeong-sang, dissolved several groups and in 1964 opened the Sanyang Catholic mission chapel in Sinbong Village, Sanyang-myeon, Tongyeong-gun. The 10 pastor, Father Jeong Sun-gu, resumed group activities, organized the Daegeon Association and the Maegoe Association, and introduced the Cursillo. In 1965, believers were made to join the Blue Army of Mary, and the Seongmo Kindergarten building (closed in November 1962) was lent free of charge as a municipal library.

[Dedication of the church in 1969] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, construction of a new church began on September 5, 1968, and on April 20 of the following year the church, rectory, auditorium meeting room, and office with a total floor area of 270 pyeong and a separate convent were completed, and on June 9 the dedication ceremony was held with Archbishop H. Rotoli, Apostolic Nuncio to Korea, presiding.

[1970s to 1980s] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 11 pastor, Father Im Tae-gyeong, took over the municipal library building and had it used as a student hall. Under the 12 pastor, Father Park Ju-seon, 3 sisters of the Sisters of the Virgin Martyr came in February 1976, and beginning with the founding of the Praesidium of Seat of Wisdom on May 6, 1976, the Legion of Mary was revived, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded on July 18, and Chungmu Kindergarten was opened on March 9, 1977. The Masan Diocese column writes that in 1978 a grotto-shaped stone cave was made between the branches of an old zelkova tree at the church entrance and a statue of Mary was enshrined there. The 13 pastor, Father Park Hae-jun, began foundational work for the division of the parish together with the 50 anniversary celebration of the parish establishment on October 9, 1979, and formed a committee to promote the construction of a division church on November 7, 1982, began construction, finished it on March 11, 1985, and separated and established Daegeon Parish, and at that time changed the parish name from Chungmu to the present name Taepyeong-dong. The Masan Diocese column writes that in the early 1980s the parish Daegeon Association invited Cardinal Kim Su-hwan, Father Ham Se-ung, Father Jeong Ho-gyeong, Bishop Du Bong, and others to a “Catholic Thought Lecture” for Tongyeong citizens, many people gathered, baptisms followed, and as a result Daegeon Church, the second church in the Tongyeong area, was dedicated in 1985.

[After 1986] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 14 pastor, Father Park Du-hwan, began expansion of the rectory and repair of the church on March 1, 1986, and finished on June 1. The division construction begun by the 15 pastor, Father Kim Yong-ho, on land donated by a parishioner on June 29, 1991, was completed under the 16 pastor, Father Jo Yeong-hui, on February 20, 1995, and Buksindong Parish was separated and established. The 17 pastor, Father Yi Yun-ho, held the 70 anniversary celebration of the parish promotion on May 23, 1999, at the Gyeongsang National University Marine Science Playground, and in September 2000 opened a movie room for middle- and high-school youth. The 18 pastor, Father Kim Yong-baek, formed a committee to promote construction of a new rectory and meeting room on November 25, 2001, as land was incorporated due to central arterial road construction, and thereafter for over 2 years carried out interior and exterior repair and landscaping of the church and new construction of the convent and rectory. The pastoral guideline for 2004 was “life of faith centered on the word of Jesus Christ and sanctification of the family.” The Masan Diocese column records Father Shin Myeong-gyun (Martin), the 23 pastor, who was newly appointed in 2020.

[Church statistics and successive pastors] The church statistics recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 1,141 persons in 1964, 1,368 persons in 1968, 1,505 persons in 1974, 2,262 persons in 1980, 2,056 persons in 1985, 2,565 persons in 1990, 2,217 persons in 1995, and 2,546 persons in 2004. Its jurisdictional area is all of Jeongnyang-dong, Taepyeong-dong, Dongho-dong, Munhwa-dong, Jungang-dong, Hangnam-dong, Seoho-dong, Myeongjeong-dong, and Docheon-dong in Tongyeong-si, and its jurisdictional Catholic mission chapel is the Yokji Catholic mission chapel. The successive pastors are the first Song Nam-ho, Joseph (1929.5–1931.5), the 2 Yi Min-du, Thaddeus, the 3 Yu Seon-yi, Joseph, the 4 Jang Byeong-hwa, Joseph, the 5 Jeong Su-gil, Joseph, the 6 Park Dong-jun, Matthias (1946.9–1961.8), the 7 Jeong Sam-gyu, John, the 8 Ham Yeong-sang, Pius, the 9 Kim Du-ho, Aloysius, the 10 Jeong Sun-gu, John, the 11 Im Tae-gyeong, Luke, the 12 Park Ju-seon, Anthony, the 13 Park Hae-jun, Cyril, the 14 Park Du-hwan, Benedict, the 15 Kim Yong-ho, Anselm, the 16 Jo Yeong-hui, Ananias, the 17 Yi Yun-ho, Philip (1996.2–2001.1), and the 18 Kim Yong-baek, John (2001.1–).

Architecture and Space

The Masan Diocese lay column writes that the present church site lies inside the fence of the old Tongjeyeong. The column writes that Bishop Mütel’s “Martyrdom Diary,” volume 817, records that Chairman Yi, John, who had been arrested in Ulsan, was beheaded and martyred in Tongyeong together with 8 persons, but since there is no record of the beheading place, the exact location cannot be known, while the author writes that he considers Taepyeong-dong Church a martyrdom shrine. It also states that Kim Gi-ryang (Felix Peter), a blessed martyr from Hamdeok-ri, Jeju, was arrested in 1866 at Geseom in Tongyeong (now Punghwa-ri, Sanyang-eup), transferred to the Tongjeyeong headquarters, and hanged around January of the following year, and the author regards the place as the Tongjeyeong military camp behind the church. This is written as the author’s opinion and handed-down tradition. The column introduces as the parish’s “treasures” the statue of Mary atop the old tree at the church entrance, the bell in the bell tower, and the tile-painted church of the Yokji Catholic mission chapel.

Related Places and Persons

• Yokji Catholic mission chapel: the Catholic mission chapel under the jurisdiction of this parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Masan Diocese column writes that there is a “tile-painted church” decorated with baked picture tiles joined on the walls.
• Okpo Parish: the mother parish from which Sinjeong Parish was separated and established in May 1929 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Daegeon Parish: the parish separated and established from this parish on March 11, 1985 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Masan Diocese column).
• Buksindong Parish: the parish separated and established from this parish on February 20, 1995 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Taepyeong-dong Parish” (vol. 11) ① Diocese of Masan. Establishment and name changes, affiliation changes, church dedication, divisions, church statistics and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/6305
2. Catholic Diocese of Masan, lay column parish pilgrimage “Taepyeong-dong Church that kindled a flame in Tongyeong, a barren land for evangelization” (2020.7.3). Time of establishment and name changes, handed-down tradition of the acquisition of the Japanese temple, martyrdom-related traditions,分家 of Daegeon Parish, treasures.
   https://cathms.kr/C_4/4267