Seokgwan-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Seokgwan-dong Church is a parish in the 4 Seongbuk Deanery, Central Seoul Region, Archdiocese of Seoul, located in Seokgwan-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Separated from Imun-dong Parish and Jangwi-dong Parish and established on March 15, 1978, its patron is the Resurrection of Jesus. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records how the first site, on which building permission could not be obtained because it was in a semi-industrial zone, was transferred to the diocese and another site was purchased to build the church.

History

〔Background of Establishment〕 Until the mid-1970s, the faithful in the Seokgwan-dong area attended Mass at Imun-dong Parish or Cheongnyangni Parish instead of their jurisdictional parish, Jangwi-dong Parish, because transportation was convenient. As this situation continued without a local community being formed, Hogan (J. Hogan), the 2 pastor of Jangwi-dong Parish, with the support of the Columban Missionaries, purchased land in the area of 119-15 in Seokgwan-dong, 310 pyeong in size, and promoted the creation of a new parish. However, as building permission could not be obtained because this site was in a semi-industrial zone, the diocese planned the establishment of Seokgwan-dong Parish in early 1977, and in June of the same year purchased 324 pyeong for the present parish site, transferring the earlier site to the diocese instead.

〔Establishment of the Parish〕 Mass was celebrated at the new building site on January 16, 1978, and on February 1 Father Park No-heon, assistant priest of Imun-dong Parish, was appointed as the person in charge of preparations for the new parish. With the establishment of Seokgwan-dong Parish on March 15, 192 households and 592 persons had their parish registers transferred from Jangwi-dong Parish, and 216 households and 728 persons from Imun-dong Parish.

〔Construction of the Church〕 The first Mass and the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church were held on April 2, 1978, and the parish pastoral council was formed on September 10. On January 5 of the following year, a branch house of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres was established, and on July 1 a church of 438 pyeong in size with annex buildings was completed and the dedication ceremony was held.

〔Subsequent Development〕 On December 27, 1981, parishioners opened “House of Love,” a home for elderly people without anyone to depend on, but in November 1988, when this house moved to Nonsan, its operation was transferred. Under the 4 pastor, Father Philip Jang Gang-taek, in November 1990 renovation and repair work on the small chapel and annex facilities was carried out, and 2 houses were additionally purchased for the expansion of the church. As the number of the faithful increased, Wolgye-dong Parish was separated on September 24, 1992, with 1,510 households and 4,089 persons having their parish registers transferred. Father John Hong In-su, the 5 pastor, personally practiced frugality and thrift, and from January 1998 had each believer keep an individual church-dues passbook, promoting systematic parish operation.

〔Parish Statistics and Successive Pastors〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the number of the faithful was 1,320 at the time of the parish establishment, 3,581 in 1981, 5,920 in 1985, 8,737 in 1989, 3,804 in 1993, and 3,584 in 1997. The successive pastors are recorded as the first, John Chrysostom Park No-heon (1978. 3~1982. 2), the 2, Clement Lee Jong-hyo (1982. 2~1987. 8), the 3, Peter Lee Ki-heon (1987. 8~1990. 2), the 4, Philip Jang Gang-taek (1990. 2~1993. 11), the 5, John Hong In-su (1993. 11~1998. 9), and the 6, Joseph Park Seon-yong (1998. 9~).

Jurisdiction and Affiliation

The jurisdictional area as recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is all of Seokgwan 1 and 2-dong, all of Imun 3-dong, and part of Sangwolgok-dong. The online directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists the date of establishment as 1978.03.15, the patron as the Resurrection of Jesus, and the congregation of sisters as the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres.

Related Places and Persons

• Imun-dong Parish: It is one of the mother parishes from which Seokgwan-dong Parish was separated.
• Jangwi-dong Parish: It is the other mother parish from which Seokgwan-dong Parish was separated.
• Wolgye-dong Parish: It was separated from Seokgwan-dong Parish on September 24, 1992.
• Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres: They established a branch house in the parish on January 5, 1979.

References and Sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Seokgwan-dong Parish”. Separation and establishment from Imun-dong and Jangwi-dong Parishes on March 15, 1978, patron Resurrection of Jesus, jurisdictional area, denial of building permission for the first site and purchase of the present site, dedication of the church (1979), separation of Wolgye-dong Parish, parish statistics, successive pastors.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3204
2. Online directory of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, “Seokgwan-dong”. Affiliated diocese and deanery (Central Seoul Region 4 Seongbuk Deanery), date of establishment 1978.03.15, congregation of sisters (Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres), patron Resurrection of Jesus.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000141&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011