상도동 성당

History & origins

Catholics in the Sangdo-dong area began discussing the establishment of an independent parish around Easter 1963. In July 1964 they rented a building in Sangdo-dong and prepared a hall, and on August 15 the Sangdo-dong mission station was formally established along with a committee to promote the creation of a parish. Through offerings and fundraising, the community purchased part of the present church site in 1965 and secured additional land in 1966.

On this foundation, Sangdo-dong was established as an independent parish in December 1966, separating from the mission station jurisdiction of Myeongsudae Parish, today’s Heukseok-dong Parish. The sources differ on the exact day: the current Catholic directory gives December 26, while the Encyclopedia of Korean Catholicism gives December 14. For that reason, the narrative uses only the securely shared date, December 1966.

As the area continued to grow, the parish both divided its territory and expanded its facilities. Even after Bongcheon 1-dong Parish was separated in 1981, growing numbers required the purchase of additional neighboring land, and an expansion was completed in 1984. In the 1990s, new facilities including a rectory and convent were built, and some territory was transferred when Sindaebang-dong Parish was created. Sangdo-dong’s history is thus the story of a community that began as a mission station, established its own parish, and helped expand the local Church by giving rise to new parishes as the city grew. The fact that local Catholics themselves secured a temporary hall, organized a founding committee, and raised money for the purchase of land shows that the establishment of Sangdo-dong was not simply an administrative decision from above but rested on concrete participation by the local faithful. The later expansions, construction of additional facilities, and separation of daughter parishes were developments built on that foundation as the size and pastoral needs of the community continued to change.