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About this place
Susaek Catholic Church is a parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul with a long history of serving Catholics in Jeungsan-dong, Susaek, and the surrounding area of Eunpyeong-gu. Its roots extend to the early twentieth century, and the current Catholic directory records the parish as having been founded in 1909. Its patron is the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The present church on Jeungsanseo-gil remains a center for Mass, the sacraments, catechesis, and community life in northwestern Seoul.
The significance of Susaek lies not in having remained in exactly the same form or place from the beginning, but in the continuity of a missionary community that moved and was reorganized as the Hangju and Susaek areas changed. The community endured hardship during the Japanese colonial period and the years around liberation, revived after the war years, and moved to Susaek in the 1950s, when it acquired its current parish name. As the population grew, parishes including Eungam and Gajwa were later separated from it, making Susaek one of the communities that helped shape the expansion of the Church in northwestern Seoul. It is therefore both a living local parish and a place that preserves the continuity of Catholic history in the area. Its long chronology also carries memories of the earlier Hangju and Susaek mission field that are not immediately visible from the present church building alone.
History & origins
The roots of Susaek Catholic Church lie in a mission station of Yakhyeon Parish and Catholic missionary activity in the northwestern area of the Han River. Church sources state that in May 1909 this community was elevated as Hangju Parish. The current Catholic directory gives May 26 as the foundation date, while the Catholic Encyclopedia gives May 21, so the safest wording is that the parish began in May 1909. Its center at that time was not the location of today's church, and its character was strongly that of a missionary base serving Catholics around Hangju.
Near the end of the Japanese colonial period, restrictions on foreign missionaries greatly weakened parish ministry, and by around 1942 the community had effectively been reduced to the status of a mission station. A priest returned in 1948, restoring regular parish life. In 1957 the parish center moved to Susaek-dong and the name was changed to Susaek Parish. Rapid population growth in northwestern Seoul then reshaped its territory: Eungam Parish was separated in 1968 and Gajwa Parish in 1971.
The present site in Jeungsan-dong was acquired in 1970, and a new church was built and completed and dedicated in August 1971. From this base, Susaek continued its liturgical, educational, and local pastoral work. The journey from a 1909 mission centered in Hangju, through social upheaval and relocation to Susaek, and then to the creation of daughter parishes mirrors the urban development of northwestern Seoul and the expansion of Catholic communities there. Although the exact day of foundation differs between sources, the continuity from the early twentieth-century mission to today's Susaek Parish is clear. The move from Hangju to Susaek also illustrates how the Church relocated a pastoral center in response to changes in where Catholics lived.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Susaek Catholic Church: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedia articles are currently available in Korean.
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Building information
- Passenger elevators: 0
- 4 above-ground floors · 2 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 1990
- Total floor area: 2,991㎡
Building-register record · · Source
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Sources and updates
- Information Status
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- Source
- Diocese source
- Data freshness
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- Last updated
- Source
- Francisco Diary
Diocese
Official website: https://aos.catholic.or.kr
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