Hwagokbon-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Hwagokbon-dong Church is a parish belonging to the 17 Gangseo District of the West Seoul Region of the Archdiocese of Seoul, located in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, it was established on April 14, 1969, separated from Yanghwajin Parish (now Seogyo-dong), and its patron is the Queen of Peace. At first it was Hwagok-dong Parish, but in September 1980, as it separated Hwagok2-dong Parish, it changed the parish name to Hwagokbon-dong.

History

〔Establishment of the mission chapel〕 In the Hwagok-dong area, incorporated in 1963 from Gimpo County, Gyeonggi into Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, construction of a housing complex for 10 ten thousand households and move-ins began in 1966. As the inflow of Catholic faithful increased, establishment of a parish was discussed among Hwagok-dong faithful attending Yanghwajin Parish at the time, and on June 9, 1968, they formed a preparatory committee for parish establishment and conducted a fundraising campaign to provide a mission chapel. On September 22 of that year, the Hwagok-dong Catholic mission chapel (Hwagok-dong 105-34) was established, and until a parish was established, Sunday Mass was celebrated by Fr. Andrew Choe Seok-u, pastor of Yanghwajin Parish.

〔Establishment of the parish〕 As the Archdiocese of Seoul approved the establishment of Hwagok-dong Parish, on April 14, 1969 the mission chapel was raised to a parish and Fr. Kim Hyeong-sik took office as the first pastor. With no church or rectory, Fr. Kim lodged at a parishioner's house and celebrated Mass in the mission chapel hall, and later used a house near Christ Theological Seminary (Hwagok-dong 46-17) as the rectory. They sometimes set up an army tent in the front yard of the house and spread straw mats on the floor to celebrate Mass.

〔Construction and dedication of the church〕 In June 1970, 420 pyeong of church land was secured at the present site and new construction began. The 1 floor of the church and the rectory were completed in March 1971, and the 2 floor of the church was completed in September 1972, and on October 15, 1972 the dedication and consecration ceremonies were held with Archbishop Paul No Gi-nam presiding. Prior to this, on February 10, 1972 a sister of the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help was dispatched, on September 12 a convent was provided, and on March 13 of the following year Seonmi Kindergarten opened.

〔2-term pastor, Fr. Kim Jeong-jin〕 In October 1975, to serve faithful in Sinwol-dong with inconvenient transportation, a building was purchased and Sinwol-dong Catholic mission chapel was installed, but when Sinjeong-dong Parish was established in December 1976, this mission chapel was incorporated into the new parish. In April 1976, a house across from the church (Hwagok-dong 105-240) was purchased and used as a convent, in September 1977 an education hall was completed, and in August of the following year Balsan-dong Parish was divided off.

〔3~4-term pastors〕 Fr. Francis Xavier Choe Yong-rok, the 3-term pastor, founded the Queen of Martyrs Curia on August 20, 1979, and on September 20 of the following year, as he separated Hwagok2-dong Parish, he changed the parish name from Hwagok-dong to Hwagokbon-dong. In 1983, during the pilgrimage tour of Fr. Andrew Kim Dae-geon's relics, an all-night prayer vigil was held on May 20 when the relics were enshrined. Fr. Eusebius Yang Hong, the 4-term pastor, on January 4, 1984 designated every Wednesday night at 9 o'clock as 'Face-to-Face Day' and encouraged Bible reading, and also held Holy Spirit seminars and prayer meetings several times.

〔5-term pastor, Fr. Kim Taek-gu〕 Although Balsan-dong Parish and Hwagok2-dong Parish had been separated off, the number of faithful grew and accommodation became difficult, so more than 400 pyeong of land around the church was purchased and on March 11, 1991 new church construction began. The youth hall prepared on November 17, 1991 (basement 1 and 2 floors) was used as a temporary church, and with the above-ground framework completed, on August 15, 1994 the ridge-raising ceremony for the new church was held. During this period, on February 4, 1989 the Society of St. Vincent de Paul was founded, and the Queen of Peace (1989. 4), Queen of the Rosary, and Mother of Joy (1991. 11) Curiae were established, and on September 5, 1993 the 'Queen of Peace' Comitium serving as the Gangseo District headquarters was launched. In June 1994, the 'Sky·Earth·Water·Companion Association' was founded to operate a direct-sales outlet for domestic farm products.

〔6~7-term pastors〕 Fr. Andrew Lee Chan-il, the 6-term pastor, focused on fellowship and family-centered life through establishing Family Sunday, implementing a family altar-server system, and designating a Family Prayer Day. Church construction, which had been suspended due to several design changes and expansions, disagreements among the faithful over the design, and increased costs, was resumed in July 1999, and on July 15, 2001 the dedication ceremony was held. Fr. Thomas Cha Won-seok, the 7-term pastor, set the parish pastoral goal for 2005 under the slogan 'We Ourselves Are the Lord's Little Church' as 'A Year of Harmony Between Learning and Practice,' and carried out the opening of a culture and spirituality college, a campaign to read 30 books of spiritual reading, and walking pilgrimages to shrines in the city.

〔Record of establishment date〕 The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia gives the establishment date as April 14, 1969, while the online directory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea lists it as 1969.03.12, so the two sources differ.

〔Church statistics and successive pastors〕 The numbers of faithful in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 1,031 in 1970, 3,596 in 1975, 5,380 in 1980, 7,077 in 1985, 9,151 in 1990, 10,644 in 1995, 10,151 in 2000, and 11,703 in 2003. Successive pastors are recorded as the first, Peter Kim Hyeong-sik (1969. 4~1974. 3), the 2-term, Paul Kim Jeong-jin (1974. 3~1979. 5), the 3-term, Francis Xavier Choe Yong-rok (1979. 5~1983. 8), the 4-term, Eusebius Yang Hong (1983. 8~1988. 8), the 5-term, Ludovico Kim Taek-gu (1988. 8~1994. 8), the 6-term, Andrew Lee Chan-il (1994. 8~2001. 9), and the 7-term, Thomas Cha Won-seok (2001. 9~).

Jurisdiction and Affiliation

The jurisdictional area recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is all of Hwagokbon-dong, Hwagok7-dong, and Sinwol1·3-dong, and parts of Hwagok1·6·8-dong and Sinwol5-dong. According to the online directory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, the parish belongs to the 17 Gangseo District of the West Seoul Region, the Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is listed as its religious congregation, and Seonmi Kindergarten is marked as its affiliated kindergarten.

Related Places and People

• Yanghwajin (now Seogyo-dong) Parish: It is the mother parish of Hwagokbon-dong Parish.
• Sinjeong-dong Parish: Established in December 1976, it incorporated Sinwol-dong Catholic mission chapel.
• Balsan-dong Parish: Divided off in August 1978.
• Hwagok2-dong Parish: Separated on September 20, 1980.

References and Sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, "Hwagokbon-dong Parish". Separation from Yanghwajin Parish on April 14, 1969, patron Queen of Peace, jurisdictional area, mission chapel establishment (1968) and elevation to parish, dedication in 1972, daughter parishes (Sinjeong-dong, Balsan-dong, Hwagok2-dong), successive pastors and activities, dedication of the new church in 2001.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/6996
2. Online directory of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, "Hwagokbon-dong". Affiliated diocese and district (the 17 Gangseo District of the West Seoul Region), establishment date 1969.03.12, religious congregation, patron, kindergarten.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000249&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011