동대문 성당

History & origins

Dongdaemun Parish took shape when Catholics around Sungin-dong raised funds for a new parish and purchased a building that had belonged to a Presbyterian congregation. The current Catholic Church Directory records January 11, 1972, as the establishment date, while the parish chronicle records that the Archdiocese of Seoul announced the new church on January 28 and that the first pastor arrived on February 10.

The purchased building was remodeled and expanded, and the church was dedicated on March 11, 1973. As the community grew, the earlier building was demolished in 1977 for a new church, which was consecrated by Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan on July 4, 1979. In 1992 the parish established the Pyeonghwa Market mission station, which later developed into Dongdaemun Market Quasi-Parish.