About this place
The Daughters of St. Paul at 38 Daehak-ro 12-gil in Jongno-gu, Seoul, is the site of the congregation’s Daehak-ro community and is connected with “Pauline Hyehwa Namu,” an apostolic space opened in 2020. It is not a territorial parish or an ordinary church but a religious-community base where the sisters combine common life with evangelization through books, culture, and personal encounter. From its founding, the mission of the Daughters of St. Paul has centered on using the means of social communication—beginning with print and publishing and extending to newer media as they emerge—for the proclamation of the Gospel.
Hyehwa Namu expresses that charism within the cultural environment of Daehak-ro. After its blessing in October 2020, it was developed not only as a place to encounter books and other content but also as a setting for exhibitions, cultural programs, conversation, and rest. Its significance therefore goes beyond the function of a bookstore: it offers a point of contact where people can encounter the language of faith in everyday life and where the sisters engage contemporary culture through media and hospitality. The site is best understood as a Seoul base where Pauline media apostolate, religious life, and cultural welcome meet.
History & origins
The Daughters of St. Paul began in Alba, Italy, in 1915 through the initiative of Fr. James Alberione, who sought to use the means of social communication for the proclamation of the Gospel. The congregation regarded publishing and distribution not as secondary activities but as its own apostolic mission, and it developed the principle of reaching people through new media as technology and culture changed. That identity became a guiding principle as Pauline communities spread to many countries.
The Korean community began when the first missionary sisters arrived on December 13, 1960. They opened a St. Paul bookstore the following year and began full-scale publishing activity in 1962. Over time, the apostolate expanded beyond print publishing into audiovisual materials, broadcasting, digital content, and the internet. The methods changed with Korea’s media environment, while the purpose of evangelization through communication remained continuous; this is a defining thread in the history of the congregation in Korea.
The present site at 38 Daehak-ro 12-gil represents a relatively recent stage in which this long media apostolate meets an urban cultural setting. In 2020 the congregation created “Pauline Hyehwa Namu” there, and the space was blessed on October 18 of that year. The congregation describes it as a place where people may rest and find light and where exhibitions and various cultural activities can take place. The history of the Daehak-ro community is therefore best understood not as the beginning of the congregation’s Korean mission, but as a new urban form of the publishing and media apostolate that has continued since the 1960s. This evolution shows the Pauline principle that the means may change while the purpose of proclaiming the Gospel and the congregation’s mission remain. Hyehwa Namu is therefore not a rejection of the earlier book-centered apostolate, but a continuation that combines long publishing experience with exhibitions, conversation, and cultural programs as new forms of encounter.
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Building information
- Passenger elevators: 1
- 6 above-ground floors · 2 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 1995
- Total floor area: 1,665㎡
Building-register record · · Source
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- 한국천주교주교회의 온라인 주소록
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Official website: https://aos.catholic.or.kr
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