Seongbuk-dong Catholic Church

History & origins

The Seongbuk-dong parish began when a new community was separated from Hyehwa-dong parish in 1975. According to Seoul city Church-history material, Fr. Park Gui-hun began preparing the new parish in May 1975, and 1,026 Catholics in 384 households were separated from Hyehwa. The Archdiocese of Seoul approved the establishment of Seongbuk-dong parish on September 8, 1975, a date also recorded in the current Catholic directory.

The new community did not immediately possess the church it has today. Parishioners worked through questions of land and facilities while preparing a permanent church, and the present building was completed in June 1982 and blessed in a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan. The architecture responded to the sloping site and surroundings by placing the worship space underground, and various improvements were made in later years.

An important element in the visual identity of the church is its stained glass. In 2003, stained-glass works by artist Yang Dan-cheol, presenting salvation history and the Resurrection through Korean visual motifs, were blessed. Their combination of traditional imagery with a modern church interior has helped make Seongbuk-dong Church a place where faith and art visibly meet.

In 2025, the parish marked its fiftieth anniversary by opening music performances, exhibitions, and lectures to neighborhood residents and looking back on half a century of community life. From its separation from Hyehwa-dong through church construction, artistic development, and cultural sharing, the parish has grown as both a worshiping community and an open neighborhood space. Its facilities and activities have changed with time, but its role as a center of prayer and encounter in the area has remained continuous.