Sinwoldong Church

Overview

Sinwoldong Church is a parish belonging to Yangcheon District No. 18 in the West Seoul Region of the Archdiocese of Seoul, located in Sinwoldong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. It was established in 1984 and its patron is Saint Joseph. It was launched by separation from Sinjeong-dong Parish and dedicated a new church in 2006.

History

[Background of establishment] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, in the early 1980s, when the government announced a plan to develop a new town in the Sinjeong-dong and Mok-dong areas, Sinjeong-dong Parish anticipated a sharp population increase and decided to build a church as one of the projects commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Catholic Church. In July 1983, Sinjeong-dong Parish, in cooperation with the diocese, secured 400 pyeong of land at the present site of Sinwoldong Church, and on August 1 of the following year Sinwoldong Parish was established, with Father Valentino Song Jin taking office as the first parish priest. The parish homepage states that on June 12, 1984, it purchased 400 pyeong of land at Sinwol-4-dong No. 436-1 and that Sinwoldong Church was established by diocesan official document No. 84-30 on August 17. The establishment date differs by source: the online address book of the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the encyclopedia give 1984.08.01, while the parish homepage introduction gives June 12, 1984.

[Tent church and prefabricated building] According to the encyclopedia, the Sinjeong-dong Parish pastoral council decided to provide a temporary tent church on the church site and carried out the handover with Sinwoldong Parish on September 14, 1984. Construction of the tent church began in October and was completed in November on a scale of 70 pyeong, but during construction it faced the danger of demolition by members of the neighborhood office demolition team for aesthetic reasons, and an agreement was reached with the Gangseo District Office to demolish it within 1. Father Song founded the parish bulletin, implemented a paid missionary system, and laid the foundation of the parish. In March 1985, as promised, the tent church was demolished, and after the plan for a new church was put on hold by the diocesan building committee, the direction was changed to building a prefabricated church, and on April 7 of the same year a 124 pyeong church was completed. In February of the following year the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres were invited, and the convent moved into a building inside the church in March 1987. The parish homepage chronology separately records that on August 1, 1986, a 193 pyeong light steel-frame temporary church building was erected.

[Yeonuigol Catholic mission chapel and separation of Sinjeong-3-dong] The encyclopedia states that on April 17, 1990, a building on a scale of 103 pyeong was secured in the Sinwol-3-dong area, a triangular area of Sinjeong-dong, Oryu-dong and Sinwoldong where religious life was difficult, and ‘Yeonuigol Catholic mission chapel’ was established. At Yeonuigol Catholic mission chapel a day-care center was operated (now closed). The parish homepage chronology states that on the same day land of 110 pyeong and a building of 238 pyeong at Sinjeong-3-dong No. 761-87 were purchased to establish the chapel, that on September 11, 2001, 202 pyeong of chapel land at Sinjeong-3-dong No. 1287-6 was purchased, and that on September 19, 2002, Sinjeong-3-dong Church was established and separated (229 households and 615 persons).

[Construction of the new church] According to the parish homepage chronology, on July 19, 2003, a contract for design and supervision of the new church was signed, on October 8 the design passed the diocesan architectural review, and on October 31 a building permit was obtained from the Yangcheon District Office. On February 15, 2004, the last Mass was offered in the old church, and on February 22 a move-in Mass was offered in the temporary church. On March 7 there were a groundbreaking ceremony and groundbreaking Mass for the new church officiated by Monsignor Park Sun-jae, and on October 31 a ridge-beam ceremony was held. On August 14, 2005, the first Mass in the newly built church, officiated by Bishop Andrea Yeom Su-jeong, was offered, and on November 9 the new church was completed. On April 23, 2006, Cardinal Nicolas Jeong Jin-seok officiated the dedication Mass for the newly built church. The parish introduction page records the same first Mass on August 14, 2005 and dedication Mass on April 23, 2006.

[Church statistics and successive parish priests] The number of faithful is 1,883 in 1984, 5,163 in 1988, 6,836 in 1993, and 6,557 in 1999. The encyclopedia’s successive parish priests are the first Valentino Song Jin (1984. 8–1988. 3), the 2 Joseph Yeom Su-ui (1988. 3–1995. 9), the 3 Gregorio Heo Jung-sik (1995. 9–2000. 9), and the 4 Peter Jeon Hyeong-ui (2000. 9–). The parish homepage chronology records the taking office of the 2 Father Yeom Su-ui on September 5, 1990, the taking office of Father Heo Jung-sik on September 20, 1995 and the taking office of Father Jeon Hyeong-ui on September 19, 2000, and that on September 5, 2006, Father Joseph Song Myeong took office as the 5 parish priest.

Jurisdiction and affiliation

The jurisdictional area recorded in the encyclopedia is the entire areas of Sinwol-2-dong, 4-dong, 6-dong and 7-dong, and the affiliated chapel was 1 Yeonuigol site. The jurisdictional area in the parish homepage introduction is part of Sinwol-2-dong, Sinwol-4-dong, part of Sinwol-6-dong, and Sinwol-7-dong. The online address book of the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference lists the affiliated diocese as the Archdiocese of Seoul, the region and district as West Seoul Region Yangcheon District No. 18, the establishment date as 1984.08.01, the religious congregation as the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres, and the patron as Saint Joseph.

Related places and persons

• Sinjeong-dong Parish: the mother parish from which Sinwoldong Parish was separated.
• Yeonuigol Catholic mission chapel: a chapel established in Sinwol-3-dong in 1990.
• Sinjeong-3-dong Church: a parish separated in 2002 from the chapel area of Sinwoldong Parish.
• Father Valentino Song Jin: the first parish priest.
• Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres: the congregation invited in February 1985.

References and sources

1. Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, “Sinwoldong Parish”. Separation and establishment from Sinjeong-dong Parish on August 1, 1984, jurisdictional area, church statistics, successive priests, tent church and prefabricated church, Yeonuigol Catholic mission chapel.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/3954
2. Online address book of the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference, “Sinwoldong”. Affiliated diocese and district (West Seoul Region Yangcheon District No. 18), establishment date 1984.08.01, religious congregation, patron.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000170&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011
3. Sinwoldong Church, “Parish History”. From 1984 to 2006, land purchase and establishment, temporary church building, Yeonuigol Catholic mission chapel and separation of Sinjeong-3-dong, design, groundbreaking, ridge-beam, completion and dedication of the new church, taking office of parish priests.
   https://sinwol.or.kr/history/
4. Sinwoldong Church, introduction “Sinwoldong Catholic Church”. Date of establishment (1984. 6. 12), patron saint, jurisdictional area, brief history (first Mass in 2005, dedication Mass in 2006).
   https://sinwol.or.kr/about-2/