Myeongil-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Myeongil-dong Church is a parish in the 9 Gangdong District of the East Seoul Region of the Archdiocese of Seoul; its official name is ‘Myeongil-dong Holy Family Church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul,’ and its patron is the Holy Family. On August 19, 1987, following an increase in the faithful due to the development of large apartment complexes in the Myeongil-dong area, it was separated and newly established from the Cheonho-dong, Amsa-dong and Godeok-dong parishes, and in 1998 it dedicated a newly built church doubling as a comprehensive senior welfare center.

The Parish Introduction on the parish website lists the date of establishment as August 19, 1987, the patron saint as the Holy Family, the number of districts as 34 districts and 124 small groups, and the number of the faithful as of February 20, 2025 as 2,770 households and 7,202 members (3,165 men and 4,037 women), and introduces Raphael Cho Jeong-hwan as pastor and Antonio Kim Sin-sun as associate pastor. The address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists its affiliation as the 9 Gangdong District of the East Seoul Region, its date of establishment as 1987.08.19, its patron as the Holy Family, its number of faithful as 7,373, and its number of Catholic mission chapels as 0, and names Michael Hwang Hyeon as pastor and Antonio Kim Sin-sun as associate pastor.

History

〔Preparations for establishment〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, from the mid-1980s onward, as large apartment complexes were built throughout the Myeongil-dong area and the population surged, the establishment of a parish became an urgent need. On December 13, 1986, Thomas Oh Tae-sun, pastor of Cheonho-dong Parish, launched a committee to promote the establishment of Myeongil-dong Parish, made up of faithful living in the area who belonged to the Cheonho-dong, Amsa-dong and Godeok-dong parishes, and on February 27 of the following year, with the help of the Archdiocese of Seoul and the three parishes, purchased 400 pyeong of land for the parish. On March 10 of the same year, a rectory was prepared in the Sindonga Apartments in Myeongil-dong and used as a place to discuss the new parish until the first pastor took office. Then, after holding a blessing ceremony for a prefabricated temporary church (130 pyeong) on August 16, the parish was newly established effective August 19 (the main text of the encyclopedia gives the year of this blessing as 1986).

〔Records concerning the mother parishes〕 The encyclopedia states that Myeongil-dong Parish was separated and newly established from the Cheonho-dong, Amsa-dong and Godeok-dong parishes, and the church introduction on page 1 of the Seoul Bulletin dated March 4, 2018 explains that Myeongil-dong Church was established in August 1987 with Cheonho-dong Church and Amsa-dong Church as mother churches, and that as the number of faithful grew with the construction of large apartment complexes in the Myeongil and Godeok districts, the need for a geographical division arose.

〔Construction of the new church and the comprehensive senior welfare center〕 According to the encyclopedia, because building a church on the existing site could not accommodate all the faithful in the area, an additional 200 pyeong of land was purchased on April 15, 1988, and in the 1990s the plan to build a new church took concrete shape. At that time, discussion arose about contributing to the development of the local community at the level of a single parish rather than at the diocesan level, while fulfilling the role of an open church and a serving church, and it was decided to build a church doubling as a comprehensive senior welfare center at Godeok 1-dong, lot 317-25, Gangdong-gu. In September 1994, after review by the Seoul Metropolitan Council, permission to use public property was obtained, and on March 25 of the following year a groundbreaking ceremony was held. The encyclopedia records that the building, with a total floor area of 1,632 pyeong and 3 stories above ground and 2 stories below ground, was planned to house the church on the 3 floor and senior welfare facilities such as a physical therapy room, catechism rooms, lecture rooms and a dining hall on each floor. The Seoul Bulletin church introduction states that by 1988 the church site had been secured at 626 pyeong, a temporary building was constructed and the founding Mass was offered, and that in 1994 permission was received from the City of Seoul to use 1000 pyeong of land in Godeok-dong as the site for the church and the comprehensive senior welfare center, and in 1998 the dedication of the new church and the opening of the senior welfare center were held.

〔Early ministry and activities〕 According to the encyclopedia, in 1988 a mothers’ association supporting the Sunday school and the Legion of Mary organized by district began activities, and in 1989 6 liturgical service groups, including a prayer group, an altar society and a lectors group, were organized. To draw the interest of male faithful, who were less active than women, toward the Church, district and small-group meetings composed only of men were formed. A bazaar was held every year to raise funds for building the church, and in 1990 district retreats for all the faithful were conducted over 1 years. In June 1993, faithful working in the medical field launched a medical service team (20 physicians, 10 pharmacists and 12 nurses) to visit needy patients in the districts and to provide medical service 1 times a week at ‘Little Francis House,’ a welfare facility for the mentally disabled in Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do. On April 30, 1995, for the first time in the Archdiocese of Seoul, the ‘Blue Heart Classroom’ was opened to teach catechism to children and young people with intellectual disabilities and symptoms of schizophrenia. In addition, the first Sunday of every month was designated as ‘Family Day’ for common prayer in the domestic community, and in 1 a Bible reading chart was produced and a campaign for Bible reading by all the faithful was launched. At the time the encyclopedia was written, the parish had 27 lay apostolate groups, including 2 curiae and 39 praesidia of the Legion of Mary, as well as the Association for the Deceased, a youth Bible group, M.E., and a catechists’ council.

〔Church statistics and early pastors〕 The encyclopedia gives the church statistics as 3,434 members in 1987, 5,818 members in 1990, and 6,660 members in 1994, and records as successive pastors the first pastor Pius Min Byeong-deok (1987.8–1988.9), the 2 pastor Hippolytus Park Chan-yun (1988.9–1991.9), and the 3 pastor Joseph Jeong Gwang-ung (1991.9–). Its jurisdiction at the time covered parts of Myeongil 1-dong and 2-dong and all of Godeok 1-dong.

〔History of 2014–2019〕 According to the parish website’s history, on February 5, 2014 the episcopal ordination of Timothy Yu Gyeong-chon, then pastor, was held, on February 18 Pastor Timothy Yu left office, and on February 19 Pastor Augustine Kang Gwi-seok took office. In the same year, the parish participated in the beatification Mass for the papal visit (Gwanghwamun) on August 16, and on December 13 there was a baptism ceremony for the papal baptismal class (57 persons). On May 10, 2015 a Parish Day event for the 28 anniversary of the parish’s establishment, on May 30 the 20 anniversary of the opening of Blue Heart, and on November 6 the 1 Myeongil-dong Church Autumn Arts Festival were held. On February 21, 2016 there was a welcoming Mass for Father John the Baptist Ham Seung-su, and on October 29 Confirmation (204 persons). On February 2, 2017 the diaconal ordination of Joseph An Byeong-guk, on May 28 a charity bazaar for the welfare center commemorating the 30 anniversary of the parish’s establishment, and on November 10 an arts festival commemorating the 30 anniversary of the parish’s establishment were held, and on February 1, 2018 the priestly ordination of Joseph An Byeong-guk and on February 4 the new priest’s first Mass took place. Records note a welcoming Mass for Pastor Benedict Park Gyu-heum on February 17, 2019, the celebration of Pastor Park Gyu-heum’s silver jubilee of ordination on June 30, a live broadcast of the Sunday Mass by Catholic Peace Broadcasting on August 11, and a charity bazaar for the Holy Family Senior Welfare Center on November 9.

〔History of 2022–2025〕 According to the same history, on February 18, 2023 there was a welcoming Mass for Pastor Raphael Cho Jeong-hwan, Associate Pastor Francis Lee Seung-jun and Assistant Priest Antonio Ryu Ho-yeong, on July 2, 2023 a youth altar-server group was founded, and on November 4 the founding Mass of the ecology and environment group ‘Friends of Sky, Earth and Water’ was offered. On November 17, 2024 there was an appointment ceremony for the 21 pastoral council, and on December 15 Confirmation (142 persons). On February 18, 2025 Father Antonio Kim Sin-sun took office, and on July 13 a celebration for the 30 anniversary of the priestly ordination of Pastor Raphael Cho Jeong-hwan was held. On August 15, 2025 Bishop Timothy Yu Gyeong-chon, who had served as the 8 pastor, passed away, and on September 21 a thanksgiving Mass for the 30 anniversary of the Blue Heart Sunday School was offered, presided over by Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek.

Related Places and People

• Cheonho-dong, Amsa-dong and Godeok-dong parishes: the parishes which the encyclopedia names as the bodies from which Myeongil-dong Parish was separated. The Seoul Bulletin church introduction names Cheonho-dong Church and Amsa-dong Church as mother churches.
• Holy Family Senior Welfare Center: the comprehensive senior welfare center opened together with the dedication of the new church in 1998, with subsequent records of charity bazaars and the like in the parish history.
• Father Thomas Oh Tae-sun: as pastor of Cheonho-dong Parish, he launched the committee to promote the establishment of Myeongil-dong Parish on December 13, 1986.
• Bishop Timothy Yu Gyeong-chon: the 8 pastor, he was ordained bishop on February 5, 2014 while in office and passed away on August 15, 2025.
• Successive pastors (encyclopedia): the first pastor Pius Min Byeong-deok, the 2 pastor Hippolytus Park Chan-yun, the 3 pastor Joseph Jeong Gwang-ung.

References and Sources

1. Research Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Myeongil-dong Parish”. Background and preparations for establishment, land purchase, temporary church, plan for a new church doubling as a senior welfare center, early pastoral activities, church statistics, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2001
2. Myeongil-dong Church website, “Parish Introduction”. Official name, date of establishment, patron saint, number of districts, faithful in 2025, pastor and associate pastor.
   http://www.myeongilcatholic.or.kr/bbs/page.php?hid=about
3. Myeongil-dong Church website, “Parish History” (2010s–2020s). Major history of 2014–2025.
   http://www.myeongilcatholic.or.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=sub01_02
4. Good News parish information “Myeongil-dong” page (containing the Seoul Bulletin church introduction on page 1 of March 4, 2018). Mother churches, background of the division, 626 pyeong of land, permission for use in 1994, dedication of the church and opening of the senior welfare center in 1998.
   https://maria.catholic.or.kr/mobile/church/bondang_view.asp?orgnum=663
5. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea online address book, “Myeongil-dong”. District affiliation, date of establishment, patron, number of faithful, number of mission chapels, pastor and associate pastor.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000097&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011