Nogyangdong Catholic Church

Overview

Nature and Affiliation of the Parish

Nokyang-dong Church is a Catholic parish located in Nokyang-dong, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do, and currently belongs to the 3 District of the Diocese of Uijeongbu. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s “Catholic Directory of Korea” classifies Nokyang-dong Church as an official parish of the Diocese of Uijeongbu, recording its establishment date as September 24, 1992, its patron as the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and its representative address as 99 Biu-ro, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do. The number of faithful listed in the directory, as confirmed in 2026, is 2,133, and there is no Catholic mission chapel. Since the number of faithful may vary from year to year, it should be understood as an administrative statistic at that point in time, not as a historical figure.

According to the parish’s own introduction, Nokyang-dong Church was established in 1992 by dividing part of the jurisdiction of Uijeongbu 1-dong Church (then Uijeongbu 4-dong Church) and Uijeongbu Cathedral (then Uijeongbu 2-dong Church). The parish website records that at the time of the division, 674 households and 2,042 faithful from Uijeongbu 1-dong Church and 94 households and 219 faithful from Uijeongbu Cathedral were incorporated into Nokyang-dong Church. Therefore, Nokyang-dong Church can be seen as a parish established from the beginning not as a simple small Catholic mission chapel but to organize a considerable community of faithful on the border between northern Uijeongbu and southern Yangju into an independent parish.

Jurisdiction Area

The parish’s official introduction page describes its jurisdiction as all of Nokyang-dong, part of Ganeung 1-dong, and part of Yangju 1-dong, Yangju-si, listing Eodun-dong, Nambang-dong, Yuyang-dong, and Sanbuk-dong as detailed areas on the Yangju side. However, since this wording uses past administrative district names together, the detailed boundaries of actual parish-register jurisdiction may vary according to move-ins, divisions, and administrative adjustments. When it is necessary to confirm which parish currently has jurisdiction over a specific address, it is more accurate to check the latest jurisdiction materials from the parish office or the Diocese of Uijeongbu.

Nokyang-dong is located at the northernmost tip of Uijeongbu-si and borders Yangju-si to the north and west. According to Uijeongbu-si materials, Nokyang-dong is a place where urban and rural characteristics appear together, and residential areas expanded rapidly after large-scale housing-site development from the 2000s and the opening of Nokyang Station on Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1 in 2006. The parish history also records the move-in of 1,885 households into Humansia Apartments in its jurisdiction in 2008 as a separate event, showing that the parish community has been directly affected by local urbanization and changes in the residential population.

Background of the Place Name “Nokyang”

The place name “Nokyang-dong (綠楊洞)” is a local historical element directly connected to the parish name. Uijeongbu-si explains that during the Joseon Dynasty there was a ranch called Nokyangpyeong (綠楊坪) in this area where military horses were raised, and that the name Nokyang originated from it. The “Sejong Sillok Jiriji” is said to record that Nokyangpyeong measured 7 ri east-west and 12 ri north-south and was a place where horses of the central and left armies were pastured. Although this does not mean that the present parish was built on a Joseon-era religious heritage site, the parish name continues the area’s old place name as it is.

Patron: The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Both the parish and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s directory record the patron of Nokyang-dong Church as the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Liturgically, it is connected with devotion to the “Immaculate Heart of Mary.” The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea explains that this memorial developed in connection with devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and that after Pope Pius 12 consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942, it was extended to the whole Church and today is celebrated on the Saturday following the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.

In the Catholic Church, veneration of Mary is not the same as the adoration offered to God. No. 971 of the “Catechism of the Catholic Church” clearly distinguishes that devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary holds a special place in Christian worship but is essentially different from the adoration offered to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Therefore, the patron “Immaculate Heart of Mary” of Nokyang-dong Church does not mean deifying the Virgin Mary herself; it is accurate to understand it in the context of Catholic devotion that meditates on Mary’s faith and love, her participation in Christ’s saving work, and her maternal heart.

The Parish Today

On February 18, 2025, Father Seong Se-hyeon Bartholomeo took office as the 11th parish pastor. The parish history also records that on the same day, Father Kim Yeong-uk Blasio took office as chairman of the Uijeongbu Exodus Committee. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s directory also lists Father Seong Se-hyeon Bartholomeo as pastor of Nokyang-dong Church.

The Mass guide on the parish website in 2026 lists Sunday Masses at 06:00, 09:00, and 11:00 (principal Mass), a Vietnamese Mass at 14:00, a Timor-Leste community Mass at 16:00 (third Sunday), and a children, youth, and young adult Mass at 17:00. On Saturdays, a Marian devotion Mass on the first Saturday and a Mass for National Reconciliation and Unity on the third Saturday are also scheduled. This shows that Nokyang-dong Church has retained to the present multiple pastoral characteristics: the function of an ordinary local parish together with migrant ministry, ministry for national reconciliation and North Korean defectors, and Marian devotion.

However, the parish website’s entry for the Timor-Leste community Mass also shows the notation “Spanish.” Since this may be a notation inconsistent with Timor-Leste’s official language system, visitors seeking a Mass in a specific language should confirm the language and schedule with the parish in advance.

History

Background Before the Establishment

The history of Nokyang-dong Church began in the process of dividing the jurisdiction of existing parishes as the Catholic communities in the Uijeongbu and Yangju areas grew. Before 1992, the faithful in the Nokyang-dong area belonged mainly to the jurisdiction of what are now Uijeongbu 1-dong Church and Uijeongbu Cathedral. The history of Uijeongbu 1-dong Church records that on October 8, 1992, 674 households and 2,042 faithful moved with the division of Nokyang-dong Church. Since Nokyang-dong Church’s own introduction and history place the parish establishment date on September 24 and record the inauguration of the first pastor on September 25, it is most natural to understand that after the parish was established in late September, administrative division and parish-register reorganization followed in early October.

1992: Parish Establishment and First Mass

The official establishment date of Nokyang-dong Church is September 24, 1992. On the following day, September 25, Father Im Seung-cheol Thomas Aquinas took office as the first pastor. The community was launched first without a separate completed church building, and on October 12, 1992, the first Mass of the parish was celebrated in the basement of the rectory.

Later that year, on December 20, the first pastoral council was formed. The first president is recorded as the late Kim Hong-du Francisco. At this stage, the ecclesial administrative unit of the parish had already been established, but it had not yet acquired an independent church building and annex facilities; it was a stage of “community first, building later.”

1993–1995: Construction of the New Church Building

The most important early task of the parish community was building the new church. On March 25, 1993, fundraising cooperation letters for the church construction were sent to other parishes, and on April 18, the groundbreaking Mass for the church, presided over by Bishop Kim Ok-gyun, was celebrated. The parish history records the designer as “Yi U Architecture” and the builder as Yosan General Construction. Since the exact corporate name of the design firm, the name of the architect in charge, and detailed building information such as total floor area and structural type cannot be confirmed from the published history alone, they should not be supplemented arbitrarily.

During construction, after demolishing the existing rectory, a temporary church in the form of a vinyl greenhouse was prepared on May 27, 1993. This was a temporary space to avoid interrupting liturgies and community activities during the construction period. On July 27, sisters from a branch convent of the Sisters of the Holy Word were dispatched, and on November 16, the ridge-beam ceremony for the church was held. On December 30, Cardinal Kim Su-hwan Stefano visited the construction site.

Construction continued in 1994. On June 6, all parishioners made their first parish pilgrimage to Baeron Shrine, and on September 3, the parish’s first Confirmation was celebrated, presided over by Bishop Choe Chang-mu Andrea. On September 10, a bazaar Mass and event for the completion of the church were held at Uijeongbu Public Stadium. The mother parishes, Uijeongbu Church and Uijeongbu 1-dong Church, also participated in this event, and Bishop Kang U-il Peter celebrated the Mass. This record shows that the new parish’s church was not built in isolation by the strength of Nokyang-dong faithful alone but was completed with the support of neighboring parishes and the diocesan community.

At 11 a.m. on October 8, 1995, the dedication ceremony of Nokyang-dong Church was held. The celebrant was Cardinal Kim Su-hwan Stefano. The parish history also records that donations for construction were collected by visiting 21 parishes for the church construction. Therefore, it is accurate to record 1992 as “parish establishment,” 1993 as “groundbreaking for the present church,” and October 8, 1995 as “church dedication.” These three dates should not be confused as a single “church establishment date.”

Early Expansion of Jurisdiction and Operation of Mission Chapels

In its early years, Nokyang-dong Church was in charge not only of the present Nokyang-dong area but also of several communities in the Yangju area. According to the official history of Deokjeong Church, the Deokjeong community was transferred to a Catholic mission chapel under Nokyang-dong Church’s jurisdiction on September 24, 1992. The history of Nokyang-dong Church records the blessing ceremony of Deokjeong Mission Chapel on February 25, 1995.

In 1997, Deokjeong Mission Chapel was again elevated to an independent parish. However, the dates differ slightly by source. The history of Nokyang-dong Church records October 16, 1997 as the elevation of Deokjeong Mission Chapel to a parish and the transfer of 1,010 faithful, whereas the history of Deokjeong Church itself records approval of the division on September 26 and re-elevation to a parish on October 12. Therefore, while it is certain that “in autumn 1997, Deokjeong Mission Chapel was re-elevated to an independent parish,” to fix a single reference date for the detailed administrative procedure, the diocesan official documents of that time need additional confirmation.

On May 16, 1999, the first Mass of Gwangjeok Mission Chapel belonging to Nokyang-dong Church is recorded. At present, Gwangjeok Church of the Diocese of Uijeongbu exists in Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju-si. However, since the currently published official introduction page for Gwangjeok Church does not post sufficient early history, this document does not fix the detailed dates for the elevation and jurisdiction-transfer process from the 1999 Gwangjeok Mission Chapel under Nokyang-dong Church to the present Gwangjeok Church.

2000–2002: Growth and Division of the Yangju Baekseok Community

On March 28, 2000, to build the Yangju Baekseok church, a site of 1,512 pyeong was purchased in Osan-ri, Baekseok-myeon at that time. Construction of the Baekseok Mission Chapel church began on October 26, 2001, and a thanksgiving Mass for the new building was celebrated on January 13, 2002. The history of Nokyang-dong Church records the completion of Baekseok Mission Chapel on September 18, 2002 and the elevation to a parish with the transfer of 1,012 faithful on October 1.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s directory records the official establishment date of the present Yangju Baekseok Church as September 19, 2002. Therefore, October 1 in the history of Nokyang-dong Church may be the actual point of community division, parish-register transfer, or operational transition. In a wiki-style record, it is most accurate to cite both sources together, stating that “Yangju Baekseok Church was established on September 19, 2002, while the history of Nokyang-dong Church records the elevation of Baekseok Mission Chapel to a parish and the transfer of 1,012 faithful on October 1 of the same year.”

This process shows that Nokyang-dong Church played the role of a “mother parish” in charge of a wide area on the Uijeongbu-Yangju border from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. However, since there are communities like Deokjeong with a predecessor history older than Nokyang-dong Church, Nokyang-dong Church should not be described as the origin of all surrounding parishes.

2004: Transition to a Parish of the Diocese of Uijeongbu

At the time of its establishment, Nokyang-dong Church belonged to the Archdiocese of Seoul. On June 24, 2004, as the Diocese of Uijeongbu was separated and established from the Archdiocese of Seoul, Nokyang-dong Church also became part of the new Diocese of Uijeongbu. The official history of Deokjeong Church likewise records that on the same date, by papal decree, parts of eastern, western, and northern Gyeonggi in the Archdiocese of Seoul were combined to establish the Diocese of Uijeongbu.

After this change, Nokyang-dong Church has been operated within the local parish system of the Diocese of Uijeongbu and is currently classified as a parish in the 3 District.

2007–2011: Facility Maintenance and Local Change

On April 2007, partial remodeling of the parish was carried out, and in the same month, a branch convent of the Seongga Sobi Sisters was dispatched. In 2008, move-in of 1,885 households into Humansia Apartments in the jurisdiction began. Uijeongbu-si also explains that Nokyang-dong rapidly changed into an urban residential area after large-scale housing-site development and the opening of Nokyang Station. Taken together, these two sources can be interpreted as showing that the parish expanded in character from a 1990-era Uijeongbu-Yangju border-type community to an urban-type parish including new apartment residents in the late 2000s.

Construction to install an elevator began on December 2010, and its use began with a blessing ceremony on February 6, 2011. This is a representative example of supplementing accessibility and convenience functions in the process of long-term use of a building constructed in the early 1990s.

2012: Designation as a Specialized Parish for Migrant Ministry

On August 23, 2012, Nokyang-dong Church was designated by the Diocese of Uijeongbu as a “specialized parish for migrant ministry”. The parish history records even the supporting document, official letter No. “12-008 from the diocesan ordinary,” as grounds. This designation is an important event in explaining the modern identity of Nokyang-dong Church.

The fact that Sunday Vietnamese Mass and Timor-Leste community Mass are separately scheduled in the current parish Mass timetable shows that migrant community ministry does not remain merely as a past project. However, since whether the current administrative effect of the specialized-parish designation is maintained identically requires additional confirmation of the latest diocesan official letters, it is more accurate to state that “in 2012, the diocese designated it as a specialized parish for migrant ministry, and foreign-language and migrant community Masses are still operated at present,” rather than asserting that “it is still officially in the same designated status at present.”

2015–2017: Social Ministry and Ministry for North Korean Defectors

In 2015, parishioner An Jeom-sun Maria donated all her property, and in the same year the parish purchased a house for the communal living of elderly persons without family to depend on. Later, as the parish decided not to operate it directly, it transferred the house to the diocesan Social Ministry Bureau on November 2015. This is a case connecting the parish’s community care with the diocesan social ministry.

On February 2, 2017, Nokyang-dong Church was designated as a “specialized parish for North Korean defectors”. The parish history specifies the grounds as official letter “17-001 from the diocesan ordinary.” At present, the Mass for National Reconciliation and Unity is celebrated in the parish on the third Saturday, and video materials on the theme of national reconciliation and unity remain on the parish website. The 2012 designation for migrant ministry and the 2017 specialized designation for North Korean defectors show that Nokyang-dong Church has dealt with issues of migrants, North Korean defectors, and national reconciliation as one axis of its ministry beyond the fence of a local parish.

2017: 25th Anniversary of Parish Establishment

In 2017, various events commemorating the 25th anniversary of the parish establishment were held. On August 26, a 25th anniversary commemorative concert was held in the cathedral, and on October 15, an outdoor Mass with 461 participants was celebrated at the Yangju Byeolsandae performance venue. On December 25, the offering of 997,110 decades of the Rosary is recorded. This is a symbolic record showing the devotional character of the parish under the patronage of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the cohesion of the community.

2020–2022: COVID-19 and Changes in Liturgical Practice

During the COVID-19 period, Nokyang-dong Church also experienced restrictions on in-person liturgies. In 2021, it combined in-person Masses with live-streamed Masses on YouTube, and during Level 4 social distancing in the Seoul metropolitan area, it switched to non-face-to-face broadcast Masses. In the same year, an LED display system and video cameras were installed in the cathedral. These changes were not mere facility work but traces of digital transition to supplement ways of participating in liturgies during the pandemic.

On February 27, 2022, Timor-Leste community Mass began monthly 1 time(s) in the 1-floor space of the parish. The current Mass timetable lists a Timor-Leste community Mass at 16:00 on the third Sunday, confirming that this community liturgy has continued since.

After 2025

On February 18, 2025, the 10th pastor, Father Choe Jae-yeong John the Baptist, left office, and the 11th pastor, Father Seong Se-hyeon Bartholomeo, took office. The latest directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea also confirms Father Seong as pastor.

As of 2026, Nokyang-dong Church continues to use the church built in the 1990s while operating as a place where local parish life, migrant communities, Marian devotion, and ministry for national reconciliation coexist. To summarize the core of the parish history in one sentence, it can be described as a parish that began in 1992 with the division of faithful communities in northern Uijeongbu and southern Yangju, served in the 1990s as the mother body for surrounding mission chapels and newly established parishes, and after the 2000s expanded its role through urbanization and diocesan separation to ministry for migrants and North Korean defectors.

Architecture and Space

Beginning of the Church Construction

Construction of the present church got fully underway in 1993, the year after the parish establishment. On April 18, 1993, Bishop Kim Ok-gyun celebrated the groundbreaking Mass, and the parish history records that design was undertaken by “Yi U Architecture” and construction by Yosan General Construction. The ridge-beam ceremony on November 16, 1993 and Cardinal Kim Su-hwan Stefano’s visit to the construction site on December 30 of the same year followed, and the church dedication ceremony presided over by Cardinal Kim Su-hwan was held on October 8, 1995.

The published official materials do not confirm detailed information such as the total floor area of the church, structural type, exact date of completion approval, individual architect’s name, or stained-glass artist. Therefore, it is advisable not to write such items by guess before securing the building register, design drawings, the parish’s 25th or 30th anniversary history, and contemporary diocesan bulletins or diocesan records.

Exterior Features

The exterior of the church as seen in published photographs appears to use reddish dark-brown bricks as the main material, with a large arched opening and stained glass arranged on the front and a pointed tower form topped with a cross emphasized at the top. Several wings that appear to be the church sanctuary and pastoral and annex spaces are connected as one mass, showing the character of a composite parish architecture accommodating the parish’s liturgy, education, and administration together, rather than a form with only an independent chapel built.

However, defining the building solely by this appearance as a “Gothic church” or “Neo-Gothic church” should be avoided. Although the use of church architectural vocabulary emphasizing pointed towers, arches, and verticality is confirmed by photographs, a specific architectural style has not been confirmed in the official descriptions of the parish or the designer. For a wiki-level document, an observation to the extent that “elements reminiscent of Gothic are seen” and the fact that “it has been officially confirmed as Gothic style” must be strictly distinguished.

Interior of the Cathedral

The interior of the cathedral as seen in the parish’s official event photographs has pews arranged on both sides around a central aisle, and the wall behind the front altar reveals brick texture as on the exterior. A crucifix is placed on the central axis of the altar, with a circular or radial decorative element behind it and tall vertical stained-glass windows installed on both sides.

This composition naturally focuses the congregation’s gaze on the altar and crucifix. The cathedral has been used as the central space for major liturgies and community events such as the parish’s Sunday principal Mass, Confirmation, priests’ first Masses, and commemorative concerts.

Memory of the Temporary Churches

Before the present church was completed, the Nokyang-dong community used the rectory basement and a vinyl-greenhouse temporary church. The first Mass on October 1992 was celebrated in the rectory basement, and on May 1993, while demolishing the existing rectory for church construction, a vinyl-greenhouse-type temporary church was prepared. This process is historically significant in that today’s church building was not given at the same time as the parish establishment but was the result of the community directly promoting church construction through temporary spaces.

Changes in Small Chapels, Halls, and Annex Spaces

The parish building has not remained fixed since its dedication in 1995 but has been continually altered according to pastoral needs. In 2007, partial remodeling of the parish was carried out, and in 2009, expansion work on the mortuary was done. In 2010–2011, an elevator was installed, and in 2012, the 1-floor small chapel was converted into a multipurpose room or hall.

In 2013, the book café “Emmaus,” using the existing meeting room, opened, and in 2022, after removing the book café, the lobby café and pantry were refurbished. The Uri-Nong store also moved in the same year to the former religious-goods shop location. In this way, the space of Nokyang-dong Church has been continually adjusted to accommodate not only liturgy but also education, fellowship, welfare, and community gatherings.

Maintenance and Modernization

In 2011, exterior-wall water-repellent work and window-frame silicone work were carried out, and in 2012, lighting in the cathedral, offices, and café was replaced with LED. In 2016, the existing church gate was removed and an automatic sliding door installed, and in 2017, waterproofing work on the church exterior walls was conducted. In 2021, LED display boards and video cameras were installed in the cathedral, and in 2022, lighting in the 1-floor small chapel, sacristy, and lobby was additionally converted to LED.

These records are also important in architectural history. Nokyang-dong Church is not “a building preserving the 1995 original as it was” but a living church that an actual faith community has used for over 30 years while continually improving accessibility, waterproofing, lighting, video, and fellowship spaces. Therefore, some of what visitors see today is not the 1990s original but the result of later renovations.

Caution Regarding Architectural-Historical Value

Nokyang-dong Church is not a place introduced as a nationally registered cultural heritage or a diocese-designated shrine or historic site as currently confirmed. In the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s directory, it is also classified as an ordinary “parish.” Therefore, when explaining its cultural-heritage value, it should not be evaluated in the same way as recognized modern-architectural cultural heritages such as Myeongdong Cathedral or Yakhyeon Church.

Rather, the architectural significance of Nokyang-dong Church lies in that it is a case in which a parish community that grew during the 1990s, the period of new-town and urban expansion in the northern Seoul metropolitan area, directly built its church and has continually remodeled and expanded it in line with changes in the pastoral environment. Rather than exaggerating the art-historical status of the architecture itself, it is appropriate to explain the role of the space within the parish history and local change.

Religious Significance and Visiting Context

A Parish under the Patronage of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

The first religious marker to see in understanding Nokyang-dong Church is its patron, the “Immaculate Heart of Mary.” In the Church’s liturgy, the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a devotion meditating on Mary’s interior faith and love and her profound union with Christ’s saving work. The Holy See’s “Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy” explains that the very placement of the memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary on the day after the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus shows the close connection between the two devotions.

At Nokyang-dong Church, a Marian devotion Mass is still celebrated at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month. Therefore, the “Immaculate Heart of Mary” is not merely a historically fixed element of the parish name but a devotional identity confirmed in present liturgical life.

A Local Parish and a Base for Migrant Ministry

One of the characteristics of Nokyang-dong Church is that ordinary parish ministry for local residents and ministry for migrant communities are carried out together. In 2012, the Diocese of Uijeongbu designated Nokyang-dong Church as a specialized parish for migrant ministry. At present, a Vietnamese Mass is regularly scheduled on Sundays at 14, and a Timor-Leste community Mass is also announced for the third week.

Therefore, if visitors understand Nokyang-dong Church merely as “a neighborhood church in Uijeongbu,” they will miss one axis of the parish history. This is a place where the local faithful community and foreign and migrant communities have continued liturgies within the same parish space.

Ministry for North Korean Defectors and National Reconciliation

In 2017, the parish was designated as a specialized parish for North Korean defectors. The parish’s current Saturday Mass timetable separately lists a “Mass for National Reconciliation and Unity” at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday. The parish’s video materials also retain a “Novena for National Reconciliation and Unity.”

Because of these records, Nokyang-dong Church is also connected with the geopolitical and pastoral environment of northern Gyeonggi, where the Diocese of Uijeongbu is located. However, this does not mean that the parish is a North Korea-related historic site or martyr shrine. Its significance lies in the fact that it has addressed the settlement of North Korean defectors and national reconciliation as pastoral tasks within the currently living community.

A Community That Has Produced Priestly Vocations

Nokyang-dong Church has produced many priests from the parish. Persons currently introduced on the parish website as “priests from the parish” include Thomas Jang Myeong-won, Joseph Jang Gwang-min, Andrea Jeong Jae-ho, John the Apostle Yi Han-sin, Francisco Kim Yun-chan, Michael Yang Du-seung of the Order of Friars Minor, Michael Kim Seung-chan, Paulo Baek Jong-ha, Raphael Kang Seok-hyeon, and others. Martino Kim Jun-dong also remains on the list as a priest from the parish, but his current status is marked as “returned to the lay state.”

In particular, the parish history records Thomas Jang Myeong-won in 1996 as the “first priest from Nokyang-dong.” However, Father Jang Myeong-won’s ordination date is stated differently as January 29, 1996 and January 26 in the parish history and the priests-from-the-parish page, respectively. In a wiki-style document, in such a case it is advisable to state “January 1996 ordination to the priesthood” or, if an exact date is needed, to re-check the priest personnel records of the competent diocese.

The fact that many priestly and religious vocations have come forth is an element showing that Nokyang-dong Church has formed a long-term community foundation beyond a mere administrative unit. However, this should not be evaluated without statistical comparison as “a parish with an especially large number of vocations.”

A Pilgrimage Site or a Living Parish

Nokyang-dong Church is not a place officially classified as a martyr shrine or diocesan shrine but an active parish. Therefore, the basic context of a visit lies in liturgy and the faith community rather than tourism. Even when visiting to see its history and architecture, it should be kept in mind that it is a space where Masses, confessions, funerals, marriages, catechesis, and community events take priority.

Inside the church, it is appropriate to refrain from moving around or taking photographs during Mass and to respect the character of the liturgical space around the altar and tabernacle. If a separate group tour or detailed interior photography is needed, it is advisable to contact the parish in advance.

Masses and Visiting Hours

According to the parish website in 2026, Sunday Masses are scheduled at 06:00, 09:00, 11:00, 14:00, 16:00 (Timor-Leste community on the third week), and 17:00. 14:00 is the Vietnamese Mass, and 17:00 is the children, youth, and young adult Mass. On Saturdays, there is a Sunday evening Mass at 18:00, with a Marian devotion Mass at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month and a Mass for National Reconciliation and Unity at 10 a.m. on the third Saturday.

Mass times may change according to personnel transfers, the liturgical calendar, summer and winter schedules, and community circumstances, so it is advisable to re-check via the parish website or office immediately before an actual visit.

Transportation and Accessibility

According to the parish’s official guide, it is about a 5-minute walk from Exit 1 of Nokyang Station on Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1 toward Hyundai Apartments. By buses 208 and 208-1, it is about a 1-minute walk from the Onnuri Nuga Pharmacy stop, and by bus 8, about a 5-minute walk from the Nokyang Hyundai Apartments stop. The parish’s own parking lot is listed as free.

Nokyang Station opened in 2006, and Uijeongbu-si explains that the opening of Nokyang Station and housing-site development promoted the urbanization of the area. The relatively good accessibility of the church today is also a result of such local transportation changes.

Points to Note When Visiting

For visitors to understand the history of Nokyang-dong Church, it is better to consider the following contexts together rather than merely looking at the exterior.

1. That the first Mass in 1992 began not in an independent church but in the rectory basement.
2. That the present church was built while using a vinyl-greenhouse temporary church in 1993.
3. That the present church was dedicated in 1995 with Cardinal Kim Su-hwan Stefano presiding.
4. That the church was completed with the support of neighboring parishes and with construction donations collected by visiting 21 parishes.
5. That surrounding communities such as Deokjeong and Yangju Baekseok later became independent from Nokyang-dong Church’s jurisdiction.
6. That Vietnamese Mass, Timor-Leste community Mass, and the Mass for National Reconciliation and Unity are still operated together at present.
7. That it keeps the Immaculate Heart of Mary as patron and continues the Marian devotion Mass on the first Saturday.

When these seven points are seen together, the characteristic becomes clear that Nokyang-dong Church is a place where the expansion of the Church in northern Gyeonggi, urbanization, and changes in migrant ministry and national-reconciliation ministry can be read within the history of one parish, rather than a famous building or tourist attraction.

Related Places and People

Uijeongbu 1-dong Church

It is one of the two mother parishes of Nokyang-dong Church. At the time of Nokyang-dong Church’s establishment, it was called Uijeongbu 4-dong Church, and it is recorded that 674 households and 2,042 faithful moved to the new parish at the time of the Nokyang-dong Church division. It also participated together with Uijeongbu Cathedral in the early church-building bazaar of Nokyang-dong Church.

Uijeongbu Cathedral

It is the other mother parish of Nokyang-dong Church. The introduction of Nokyang-dong Church records that 94 households and 219 faithful from what was then Uijeongbu 2-dong Church were incorporated into Nokyang-dong Church. After the Diocese of Uijeongbu was established in 2004, Uijeongbu Cathedral has served as the cathedral parish, the central church of the diocese. It is a place that must be mentioned together with Uijeongbu 1-dong Church when explaining the origins of Nokyang-dong Church.

Deokjeong Church

The Deokjeong community has a very close historical relationship with Nokyang-dong Church, but its history did not begin with Nokyang-dong Church. The official history of Deokjeong Church records a lineage that began around 1900 as Deokjeong Mission Chapel under the jurisdiction of Jonghyeon Church, with a history of elevation to Deokjeong-ri Church in 1934. After several jurisdictional changes, it was transferred to a Catholic mission chapel under Nokyang-dong Church’s jurisdiction in 1992 and was re-elevated to an independent parish in 1997.

Therefore, rather than simplifying as “Deokjeong Church originated from Nokyang-dong Church,” it is accurate to state that “the old Deokjeong community was a Catholic mission chapel under Nokyang-dong Church’s jurisdiction in 1992–1997 and later became independent again.”

Yangju Baekseok Church

The Yangju Baekseok community is a representative division case in which Nokyang-dong Church directly promoted the construction of a mission-chapel church. Nokyang-dong Church purchased the Baekseok church site in 2000, began the mission-chapel church in 2001, and after completion of the new church in 2002, the Baekseok community became an independent parish. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s directory records the establishment date of Yangju Baekseok Church as September 19, 2002.

The history of Nokyang-dong Church records the elevation of Baekseok Mission Chapel to a parish and the transfer of 1,012 faithful on October 1 of the same year. Rather than treating the two dates as mutually exclusive records, it is appropriate to cite them together, bearing in mind the possibility that the diocese’s parish establishment date and the actual division and parish-register transfer date differed.

Gwangjeok Mission Chapel and Gwangjeok Church

The history of Nokyang-dong Church records May 16, 1999 “establishment of Gwangjeok Mission Chapel, first Mass.” At present, Gwangjeok Church of the Diocese of Uijeongbu exists in Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju-si and belongs to the 4 District. However, since it is difficult to confirm the detailed history from the 1999 mission-chapel period to the present parish on the currently published official Gwangjeok Church page, additional source confirmation is needed for the exact elevation and transfer dates of the two communities.

Cardinal Kim Su-hwan Stefano

He is one of the most important outside figures in the church-building history of Nokyang-dong Church. Cardinal Kim visited the construction site on December 30, 1993 and presided over the dedication ceremony of the completed church on October 8, 1995. Therefore, Cardinal Kim’s relationship with Nokyang-dong Church is confirmed not by a simple visit but at two points: the church construction process and the dedication.

Bishop Kim Ok-gyun

He celebrated the groundbreaking Mass for the present church on April 18, 1993. He is a figure symbolizing the beginning of Nokyang-dong Church’s architectural history.

Bishop Kang U-il Peter

On September 10, 1994, he celebrated the bazaar Mass for the completion of the church held at Uijeongbu Public Stadium. This event was a large-scale construction-support event participated in not only by Nokyang-dong Church but also by the mother parishes, Uijeongbu Church and Uijeongbu 1-dong Church.

Bishop Choe Chang-mu Andrea

On September 3, 1994, he presided over the first Confirmation of Nokyang-dong Church. Considering that the parish was then an early community in the process of building its church, the first Confirmation was an important marker in the process of liturgical and sacramental life settling as an independent parish.

Father Im Seung-cheol Thomas Aquinas

He was the first pastor of Nokyang-dong Church. He took office on September 25, 1992 and served until October 11, 1996. Father Im’s term overlaps the entire formative period of Nokyang-dong Church, from parish establishment, first Mass, installation of the temporary church, groundbreaking and construction of the new church, to the dedication in 1995. Therefore, he can be regarded as a key figure in explaining the early history of Nokyang-dong Church.

Father Seong Se-hyeon Bartholomeo

He is the 11th pastor who took office on February 18, 2025, and is confirmed as the pastor also in the 2026 directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea. He is the person representing the parish’s present administration, liturgy, and ministry.

Priests from the Parish and Religious Vocations

The parish introduces Thomas Jang Myeong-won, Joseph Jang Gwang-min, Andrea Jeong Jae-ho, John the Apostle Yi Han-sin, Francisco Kim Yun-chan, Michael Yang Du-seung, Michael Kim Seung-chan, Paulo Baek Jong-ha, Raphael Kang Seok-hyeon, and others as priests from the parish. Among them, Michael Yang Du-seung belongs to the Order of Friars Minor. The parish website records each person’s ordination date and, for some, ordination motto, so they can be used as 1-level parish records when creating detailed documents for each person in the future.

An Jeom-sun Maria

The parish history records that on April 24, 2015, parishioner An Jeom-sun Maria donated all her property, and that in the same year, on July, the parish purchased a house for the communal living of elderly persons without family to depend on. Later, on November, this facility was transferred to the diocesan Social Ministry Bureau instead of direct parish operation. She is worth recording as a related person in that this is a case where a local parish’s donation and social ministry were connected to an actual facility project.

Reference Materials and Sources

Principles for Selecting Materials

This document places priority on sources in the following order.

1. Official parish website and official parish history: confirmation of Nokyang-dong Church’s own establishment, construction, ministry, and personnel records.
2. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s “Catholic Directory of Korea”: confirmation of current administrative information such as parish establishment date, current diocese and district, address, patron, current pastor, and number of faithful.
3. Official histories of related parishes within the Diocese of Uijeongbu: cross-verification of the lineage of mother parishes, divided parishes, and mission chapels.
4. Official Uijeongbu-si materials: confirmation of the origin of the Nokyang-dong place name and the context of local urbanization.
5. Doctrinal and liturgical materials of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea and Holy See materials: confirmation of the liturgical and theological meaning of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The parish history is very important as an internal record of the community, but there may be date errors or differences in administrative criteria. In fact, differences between sources are confirmed for the elevation date of Deokjeong Church, the elevation date of Yangju Baekseok Church, and the ordination dates of some priests from the parish. In such cases, the main text prioritizes presenting both records together rather than arbitrarily selecting one source, or gives precedence to the higher-level official directory and diocesan records.

Major Sources

Items Requiring Particular Caution in Verification

Current jurisdictional boundaries: Since the parish introduction page partly uses old administrative names, the current parish-register jurisdiction for a specific address should be confirmed with the parish or diocese.

Parish establishment date: September 24, 1992. It must be distinguished from the first pastor’s inauguration date (September 25), the first Mass date (October 12), and the church dedication date (October 8, 1995).

Timing of Deokjeong Church’s independence: Since the dates in the histories of Nokyang-dong Church and Deokjeong Church differ, it should be understood as “re-elevation in autumn 1997,” and the detailed reference date requires confirmation of diocesan official documents.

Establishment date of Yangju Baekseok Church: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea’s directory gives September 19, 2002, while the history of Nokyang-dong Church records parish elevation and faithful transfer on October 1. It is safer to cite both records together.

Ordination date of Father Thomas Jang Myeong-won: It is recorded as January 29, 1996 in the history of Nokyang-dong Church and as January 26 on the priests-from-the-parish page, so additional confirmation is needed.

Architectural style: Although traditional church architectural vocabulary such as arches and pointed towers is seen in the exterior, since no official design description has been confirmed, it is not fixed as “Gothic style.”

Language of the Timor-Leste community Mass: Since the parish website shows “Timor-Leste community Mass (third week)” together with the notation “Spanish,” confirmation with the parish before visiting is needed.