Seokchon-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Seokchon-dong Church is a parish belonging to Songpa District No. 10 in the East Seoul Region of the Seoul Archdiocese, located in Samjeon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. It was established on August 22, 1988, and its patron is St. Joseph. The building has an exterior that modernizes the medieval Romanesque style.

History

[Establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Seokchon-dong Parish was separated and established from Jamsil Parish and Garak-dong Parish on August 22, 1988. This area belonged to Jamsil Parish until the early 1980s, but when the number of parishioners reached over 14,000 in early 1986, parish pastor Father Leo Kim Jeong-su planned the division of the parish and purchased 580 pyeong of land at 175-1-2 Samjeon-dong on August 29, 1987. The parish homepage chronology states that a provisional church establishment preparatory committee under a tentative name was formed on July 30, 1987, registration of the land purchase was completed on December 15, 1987, and the purchase price was 725,000,000 won (200,000,000 won subsidized by the diocese, 525,000,000 won from Jamsil).

According to the parish homepage, the establishment of the Seoul Archdiocese parish was decided on August 22, 1988, and it started with a total of 1,236 households and 3,560 members, separating Samjeon-dong and Jamsil Jugong Apartment Complex 4 (795 households, 2,346 members) from Jamsil Parish and Seokchon-dong (441 households, 1,214 members) from Garak Parish. The encyclopedia also records that it received the transfer of 3,560 baptismal registers. On September 9, 1988, the first pastor Father Martino Kim Seung-gu took office, and on September 11 the first Mass of the new parish was celebrated as an open-air Mass on the church site. On December 11 there was a dedication ceremony for a 100-pyeong temporary church of lightweight steel-frame construction, and on April 15, 1990 a 50-pyeong education hall of lightweight steel-frame construction was dedicated.

[New church construction] The encyclopedia states that because the existing site was not suitable for building a church, the present site of 580 pyeong was secured through land replotting in June 1991, construction began on October 18, 1992, and 3 years later, on October 28, 1995, a church, rectory and convent with 2 basement floor and 5 above-ground floors (total 1,575 pyeong) were completed and a dedication ceremony was held. The parish homepage chronology lists February 25, 1992 for commissioning the church building design, April 11 for the building permit, June 30 for the construction contract, October 16 for the groundbreaking ceremony, May 22, 1993 for the ridge-beam ceremony, and March 20, 1994 for moving into the new church, while the overview records the completion date as June 28, 1995. Since the completion and dedication dates differ between the encyclopedia and the homepage, both are recorded here.

[Architecture and space] According to the parish homepage, the site is a rectangular lot of 580 pyeong located on the corner of a 15-meter road and a 10-meter road. The overall exterior is a modernized form of the medieval Romanesque style, with a massive bell tower at the center of the facade, and on the front of the church building three blind arches reminiscent of a basilica space and a large rose window in the middle. It explains that the spire of the bell tower was finished in a traditional style and that the vertical slit windows were intended to represent the image of a ladder ascending to heaven. The overview records a site area of 579 pyeong and a building area of 1,572 pyeong. The homepage also introduces that the name Seokchon-dong (Dolmari) comes from Dolmal, a village with many stones, which changed into the Chinese-character name Seokchon.

[Later history] According to the homepage chronology, the parish pastoral council was formed on February 19, 1989, the elementary Sunday school opened on March 4, and on June 4 of the same year pledge cards for the No. 1 church building fund were offered, with pledged results of 597,233,600 won. On September 30, 1990, a perpetual Eucharistic adoration chapel was dedicated. The retirement Mass of the 2 pastor, Father Thomas Yu Bong-jun, was on September 30, 2001, the appointment of the 3 pastor, Father John the Apostle Seo Yu-seok, was on October 5, and on September 16, 2003, the 4 pastor, Father John the Baptist Hong In-su, took office. Afterwards, Father Benedict Gwak Seong-min (5 pastor, took office in December 2008) and Father Michael Park Gi-ju (6 pastor, took office on September 2, 2014) followed, and on February 12, 2019, Father Simon Ha Hyeong-min, and on February 8, 2022, Father Paul Hong Gi-beom took office as pastors. The encyclopedia records that the 2 pastor, Father Yu Bong-jun, prepared a Meeting Room in January 1997 and published the History of Seokchon-dong Parish for 10 Years on September 20, 1998.

[Church statistics] The numbers of faithful are 4,436 in 1989, 5,313 in 1992, and 5,655 in 1996. The parish homepage overview records 5,570 faithful in 14 districts and 92 groups. The successive pastors in the encyclopedia are the first, Martino Kim Seung-gu (1988. 8-1996. 9), and the 2 pastor, Thomas Yu Bong-jun (1996. 9-).

Jurisdiction and Affiliation

The jurisdiction recorded in the encyclopedia is the entire areas of Seokchon-dong and Samjeon-dong and the area of Jamsil Jugong Apartment Complex 4. The jurisdiction in the parish homepage overview is Samjeon-dong, Seokchon-dong, and Lake Palace Apartments. The online directory of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea lists the affiliated diocese as the Seoul Archdiocese, the region and district as East Seoul Region, Songpa District No. 10, the establishment date as 1988.08.22, the religious congregation as the Sisters of Charity of Jesus, and the patron as St. Joseph.

Related Places and People

• Jamsil Parish and Garak-dong Parish: the mother parishes from which Seokchon-dong Parish was separated.
• Father Leo Kim Jeong-su: as pastor of Jamsil Parish, he planned the division of the parish.
• Father Martino Kim Seung-gu: the first pastor.
• History of Seokchon-dong Parish for 10 Years: a parish record published on September 20, 1998.

References and Sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, "Seokchon-dong Parish". Establishment on August 22, 1988, patron St. Joseph, jurisdiction, church statistics, successive priests, parish division process and new church construction and dedication.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3211
2. Online directory of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea, "Seokchon-dong". Affiliated diocese and district (East Seoul Region, Songpa District No. 10), establishment date 1988.08.22, religious congregation, patron.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000142&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011
3. St. Joseph Seokchon-dong Church, "Parish Introduction: Overview, Brief History and Chronology". Establishment process and transferred numbers of faithful, new church construction schedule, architectural style, site and building scale, chronology of pastors taking office.
   https://www.scdsd.or.kr/default/mp1/mp1_sub1.php?sub=01