Segyeomjeong Catholic Church

History & origins

Before Segeomjeong parish was established, Catholics in the area belonged to Sejongno parish. The Catholic Encyclopedia states that around 300 Catholics were living in neighborhoods such as Gugi-dong and Pyeongchang-dong during the 1960s and experienced considerable inconvenience traveling to Sejongno Church. As residential development expanded, the need for an independent place of worship closer to home became stronger.

On September 23, 1968, the Archdiocese of Seoul separated the Segeomjeong area from Sejongno and established Segeomjeong parish. The Holy Family was chosen as patron, and the current Catholic directory records the same foundation date and patron. The new parish provided a local base where Catholics in the northwestern Jongno neighborhoods could participate more easily in Mass, the sacraments, and formation.

The early community had to raise funds directly for a permanent church. A 1970 Church newspaper report records that artist Jang Seon-baek held an exhibition to support Segeomjeong Church construction and notes that the parish had secured a site of about 200 pyeong and was preparing the project. This offers evidence that the church was built through active participation and support by parishioners and friends of the community.

The parish marked its fiftieth anniversary in 2018. Parishioners undertook long-running Rosary and Scripture-copying activities and compiled a record of half a century. The core historical arc is therefore one of a distant local community becoming an independent parish and building its own spiritual home. The reliable sources reviewed here do not sufficiently establish the exact completion date and detailed construction chronology of the early church, so it is safer to retain the verified sequence of foundation, fundraising, and later anniversary remembrance rather than invent missing details.