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History & origins

The Society of St. Paul was founded by Fr. James Alberione in Alba, Italy, on August 20, 1914. Alberione believed that the rapidly developing tools of printing and publishing should be used actively for the proclamation of the Gospel. The congregation therefore developed publishing, distribution, and later forms of communication media as its proper apostolate. This approach shaped a Pauline identity in which religious life and media apostolate are not separate: prayer and community life provide the spiritual foundation for communication with society.

The first Pauline priest arrived in Korea near the end of 1961, and a more stable foundation for the Korean community was established in 1962. The early members lived in temporary quarters while preparing a publishing apostolate, which later expanded through St. Paul publishing and bookstores to distribute Korean-language Catholic books and other media. Sources differ in whether “entry into Korea” is dated from the first missionary’s arrival in 1961 or the formal establishment of a community base in 1962; the two dates are best understood as consecutive stages of the same early settlement.

The present Nonhyeon-dong community at 116 Hakdong-ro was established much later, on January 19, 2018. It was not the first Korean base of the congregation, but a newer community created to continue its long publishing and media apostolate within the urban life of Gangnam. At the same address, the St. Paul bookstore and Book Café Leben host encounters centered on books, culture, the Word, and community. The site thus shows how the congregation’s apostolate has expanded from producing publications to creating a direct place of encounter with people. The establishment of this branch differed from the congregation’s early arrival in a new country. It is more accurately understood as a mature Korean community repositioning its publishing and cultural outreach within contemporary Seoul, showing that the physical forms of Pauline media apostolate have also changed with the times.