Jungwha-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Junghwa-dong Church is a parish in the 7 Dongdaemun-Jungnang District of the East Seoul Region of the Archdiocese of Seoul, whose patron is Saint Paul. On February 14, 2008, it was established by separation from Muk-dong Church as its mother parish, with 8 districts and 2,173 parishioners, and after celebrating Mass at Muk-dong Church for about 14 months, it completed its church building in spring 2009 and held the dedication ceremony for the church building in November of the same year.

The directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists Junghwa-dong Parish as belonging to the 7 Dongdaemun-Jungnang District of the East Seoul Region, with foundation date 2008.02.14, patron Saint Paul, 2,838 parishioners and 0 mission chapels, and names Father Jeong Seong-won Lucio as pastor.

History

[Period under Muk-dong Parish jurisdiction] According to the “Muk-dong Parish” entry in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the jurisdiction of Muk-dong Parish, newly established on September 8, 1975 by separation from Sangbong-dong Parish, covered Muk 1 and 2-dong and all of Junghwa 1 to 3-dong, plus part of Byeollae-myeon, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do. The encyclopedia states that in the early 1970s, as the incoming population in this area surged, pastoral difficulties for Sangbong-dong Parish, the parish then in charge, grew and the faithful in the Junghwa-dong, Muk-dong and Gongneung-dong areas suffered transportation inconvenience, so the establishment of a new parish was sought.

[Separation and foundation] According to the church introduction on page 1 of the Seoul Bulletin dated December 8, 2019, Junghwa-dong Church was founded in February 2008 by separation from Muk-dong Church as its mother parish, with 8 districts and 2,173 parishioners. The directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea gives the foundation date as 2008.02.14.

[Mass at Muk-dong Church] According to the same Seoul Bulletin introduction, when the first pastor took office there was no place yet to celebrate Mass, so for about 14 months Mass for Junghwa-dong Church was celebrated at Muk-dong Church, at 12 p.m. on Sundays and at 10 a.m. on weekdays.

[Construction and dedication of the church building] According to the Seoul Bulletin introduction, beginning with the groundbreaking ceremony for the church building in September 2008, the parish launched its first pastoral council in January 2009 and pressed ahead with pastoral activities and construction of the church building, and completed the church building in spring 2009. Afterwards, in November 2009 it held the dedication ceremony for the church building.

Architecture and Space

According to the Seoul Bulletin introduction, the 3 floor of the church building is the main church hall, the 4 floor holds the infant room and the choir loft, and the 2 floor is provided with Sunday school classrooms.

Related Places and People

• Muk-dong Church: the mother parish of Junghwa-dong Church; after the separation in 2008, Mass for Junghwa-dong Church was celebrated here for about 14 months. According to the encyclopedia, Muk-dong Parish was established on September 8, 1975 and had jurisdiction over Junghwa 1 to 3-dong.
• Sangbong-dong Church: the parish that had jurisdiction over the Junghwa-dong and Muk-dong areas before Muk-dong Parish was established.

References and Sources

1. Good News parish information “Junghwa-dong” page (containing the church introduction on page 1 of the Seoul Bulletin of December 8, 2019). Foundation by separation in February 2008 and number of faithful, Mass at Muk-dong Church, groundbreaking ceremony in 2008, launch of the pastoral council, completion and dedication of the church building in 2009, and spaces by floor.
   https://maria.catholic.or.kr/mobile/church/bondang_view.asp?orgnum=2734
2. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Muk-dong Parish”. Foundation of Muk-dong Parish, its jurisdiction including Junghwa 1 to 3-dong, and background to its establishment.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2129
3. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea online directory, “Junghwa-dong”. Affiliated district, foundation date, patron, number of faithful, number of mission chapels, pastor.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000227&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011