Seocho-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Seocho-dong Church is the district head parish of the 12 Seocho District in the West Seoul Region of the Seoul Archdiocese, located in Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul. From the Geukdong Catholic mission chapel under Banpo Parish, it was established as the Seocho Quasi-Parish on November 25, 1980, and was elevated to a parish on January 6, 1981. Its patron is St. Charles Hyeon Seok-mun. The faith community of this area traces back to the ‘Seoripul Catholic mission chapel’ founded in 1901, which is recorded as the first Catholic mission chapel established in the Gangnam area.

History

〔Mission Chapel Era〕 The faith community in what is now the Seocho-dong area began to form after the end of the persecutions. At that time this community belonged to Gadeungi (present Wangnim) Parish, and from 1893 it belonged to Yakhyeon (present Jungnim-dong) Parish, before it was founded as the ‘Seoripul Catholic mission chapel’ in 1901 by Father Doucet. In 1947, after chairman Kim Ui-seok (Bernard) built a hall of 50 pyeong in Myeongdal-ri, its name was changed to ‘Seocho-ri Catholic mission chapel.’ On July 15 of the same year, when Father Lee U-cheol (Simon) opened a nursery called Seongsimwon in Jamsil-ri (present Jamwon-dong) and the ‘Jamsil-ri Quasi-Parish’ (the predecessor of Jamwon-dong Parish) was established, the Seocho-ri Catholic mission chapel came to belong to it.

Around 1964, when the Bangbae-ri Catholic mission chapel was established, the Seocho-ri Catholic mission chapel lost faithful and its hall was closed, and on July 20, 1965, with the establishment of Yangjae-dong Parish, it came to belong to that parish. From the early 1970s, as farmland in the area was developed into residential land and the Geukdong Apartments were built, the Seocho-dong faith community formed again, and at that time Father Lee Yong-seon (Peter) of Yangjae-dong Parish guided the community. Afterwards the registers of the faithful were transferred to Banpo Parish, to which they belonged, and on January 15, 1977, the ‘Geukdong Catholic mission chapel’ was established. After moving its chapel house four times, the Geukdong Catholic mission chapel prepared a hall of 60 pyeong on the 3 floor of the Gyeongbok Building at 853-3 Seocho-dong on October 20, 1980.

〔Parish Foundation and Growth〕 The Geukdong Catholic mission chapel was established as the ‘Seocho Quasi-Parish’ on November 25, 1980, and on January 6 of the following year it was elevated to a parish, with Father Kim Yu-jong appointed as the first pastor. At that time the number of faithful was 843 people in 261 households. On June 20 of that year a temporary church of 170 pyeong was prepared at 169-2 Seocho-dong, and in April 1982 a site of 368 pyeong at lot 2 in block 527, Seocho-dong, was purchased, and on December 12 a church of 143 pyeong and offices, meeting rooms and a rectory of 115 pyeong were completed. As the faithful continued to increase, from December 1985 to March of the following year the present church site of 1,683 pyeong was purchased, and on March 30, 1986, construction of a new church began, and on October 9, 1987, a church of 1,400 pyeong with 1 basement floor and 3 above-ground floors was completed.

On January 7, 1988, ‘Seokmun Kindergarten’ was opened, and on November 19, 1989, the ‘Foundation for Helping Boy and Girl Heads of Households’ was launched. On October 18, 1993, separating the ‘Seocho 3-dong Parish,’ registers of 1,958 people in 648 households were transferred. In April 1996 a building at 50-1 Banpo-dong (land 335 pyeong, floor area 148 pyeong) was purchased, and on September 25, 1998, the ‘Banpo 4-dong Parish’ was separated. On the same day, as Seocho-dong Parish was designated the 12 district head parish, Father Kwak Seong-min was appointed as the first district head priest. In early 1999, as a plan to vitalize small communities, Father Kwak organized the catechumenal catechesis program ‘District Catechesis Classes’ (district and group catechesis classes of fewer than 10 members), and published the interactive catechesis textbook “The Lord Is with Us,” which began to be used from April of the same year in the district-level catechist training school.

The church statistics recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are 2,379 people in 1982, 7,606 people in 1987, 12,435 people in 1992, and 11,659 people in 1996. Its jurisdiction is the entire Seocho 1 and 2-dong and part of Seocho 4-dong. Successive pastors are the first Kim Yu-jong, Matthias (1981.1–1986.2), the 2 Park Byeong-yun, Thomas (1986.2–1990.8), the 3 Kim Byeong-il, Joseph (1990.8–1995.9), and the 4 Kwak Seong-min, Benedict (1995.9–1998.9), and Father Kwak Seong-min is the first district head (1998.9–).

Architecture and Space

On December 12, 1982, a church of 143 pyeong and a rectory were completed, and the present church was begun on March 30, 1986, on a site of 1,683 pyeong and completed on October 9, 1987, with 1 basement floor and 3 above-ground floors, with a size of 1,400 pyeong.

Faith Meaning and Visiting Context

The faith community in the Seocho-dong area originated from the Seoripul Catholic mission chapel in 1901, and the encyclopedia records this chapel as the first Catholic mission chapel established in the Gangnam area. In the Korean Catholic Directory, Seokmun Kindergarten is listed as the kindergarten of the parish.

Related Places and People

• Seoripul Catholic mission chapel (1901), Seocho-ri Catholic mission chapel and Geukdong Catholic mission chapel: the predecessor chapels of Seocho-dong Parish.
• Jamwon-dong (Jamsil-ri) Parish, Yangjae-dong Parish and Banpo Parish: the parishes to which the Seocho-ri and Geukdong chapels successively belonged.
• Seocho 3-dong Parish (October 18, 1993) and Banpo 4-dong Parish (September 25, 1998): the parishes separated from Seocho-dong Parish.
• Seokmun Kindergarten: the parish kindergarten opened on January 7, 1988.

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Seocho-dong Parish (Seocho)”. The elevation to a parish on January 6, 1981, the patron St. Charles Hyeon Seok-mun, the mission-chapel era from the Seoripul chapel, the new church construction, the separation of Seocho 3-dong and Banpo 4-dong Parishes, the designation as the 12 district head parish, and successive pastors and church statistics were confirmed.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3191
2. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, Korean Catholic Directory “Seocho-dong (Ji)”. The affiliated district (the 12 Seocho District in the West Seoul Region), the establishment date 1981.01.06, the patron St. Charles Hyeon Seok-mun, and Seokmun Kindergarten were confirmed.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000139&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011