Yangwon Catholic Church

Overview

Yangwon Church is a parish belonging to Dongdaemun-Jungnang District No. 7 in the East Seoul Region of the Archdiocese of Seoul, whose patron is ‘the Blessed Virgin Mary conceived without original sin’ (feast day December 8). It began as the Mangwoo mission chapel in 1999–2000, was established as ‘Mangwoo 1-dong Church’ when it separated from Sinnae-dong Church on January 27, 2005, and changed its name to ‘Yangwon Church’ with diocesan approval on August 18, 2016. On October 24, 2021, it celebrated the dedication Mass for the new church building.

History

〔Mangwoo Mission Chapel Period (1999–2003)〕 According to ‘Parish Introduction’ on the parish website, Yangwon Church began when support for establishing the Mangwoo mission chapel gathered around the faithful of the Mangwoo 1-dong area of Mangwoo-dong Parish in August 1999. In January 2000 it leased space in an apartment shopping arcade and celebrated the first mission Mass in February of that year. After the last Mass at the Mangwoo mission chapel in January 2003, the faithful were incorporated from Mangwoo-dong Church into district 7 of Sinnae-dong Church.

〔Parish Establishment (2005)〕 It then purchased land in the Mangwoo-bondong area (Mangwoo-bondong 268-1 and other parcels) and promoted construction of Mangwoo 1-dong Church, and on January 27, 2005 it separated from Sinnae-dong Church and received formal parish establishment approval from the diocese under the name ‘Mangwoo 1-dong Church.’ On February 15, 2005 Father Paul Park Jun-ho took office as the first pastor. The parish chronology records the separation from Sinnae-dong Church in January 2005 (January 27) and the arrival of Father Park Jun-ho in February (15th) as its first entries, and notes for that year an outdoor Mass for all parishioners (House of Grace) and a village feast for the elderly in May, a bazaar to raise the construction fund in October, and the first Baptism ceremony and an all-parishioners retreat (Hanmaeum Retreat Center) in December.

〔Construction of the Education Center and Early Pastoral Care (2006–2012)〕 According to the chronology, in March 2006 it held the entrance ceremony of the senior academy and held an outdoor Mass for all parishioners in May, Confirmation by Bishop Lucas Kim Un-hoe in June, and a pilgrimage to the Jeonju Chimyongjasan Shrine in August, and in October it held a bazaar to raise the construction fund and broke ground for the education center, completing it in December. In 2007 it records a walking pilgrimage to Cheonjinam (faith school) in July, a pilgrimage to Dannae Holy Family Church in August, and a bazaar to raise the construction fund in October. In January 2008 the statue of the Madonna and Child was blessed, Confirmation was held in May, and in September Father Peter Choi Cheol-yeong took office as the 2 pastor and Father Paul Park Jun-ho left office as the 1 pastor. In February 2011 Father Peter Yu Cheol took office as the 3 pastor (Father Choi Cheol-yeong left office), and in December of that year the 1 ‘Starlight Festival’ (Christmas festival) was held, and the chronology shows that the 2–5 festivals continued in December from 2012 to 2015. Charles Lee Jae-guk was ordained deacon in February 2011 and priest in February 2012.

〔Change of Pastors and Renaming of the Parish (2013–2016)〕 Confirmation was held in September 2013, and in December 2014 the Family Division and the ME group were revived. On February 16, 2016 Father Andrew Kim Chung-seop Kim Dae-geon took office as the 4 pastor and Father Peter Yu Cheol left office. On August 18 of the same year, with diocesan approval, the parish name was changed from ‘Mangwoo 1-dong Church’ to ‘Yangwon Church,’ and in October the church symbol and logo were produced and in December a plan to relocate and build the church was proposed to the diocese.

〔Relocation of the Church and Construction of the New Church (2018–2021)〕 The parish website explains that the area where the original church stood was designated as the 4 Bogeumjari housing district implemented by LH, making construction of a new church necessary, and that the diocese purchased the site of the present new church. On August 28, 2018 Father Andrew Kim Seong-man took office as the 5 pastor to take charge of building the new church (Father Kim Chung-seop began a sabbatical year). On December 25, 2018 the last Mass was celebrated at the old church (Mangwoo-dong 268-1) (Christmas Day Mass during the day) and the parish moved, and on December 30 the first Mass was celebrated in the temporary church. The temporary church address is given as Yongmasan-ro 628 in Jungnang-gu in the parish introduction and as Yongmasan-ro 623 (Sinnae-dong) in the chronology. In January 2019 the old church was demolished and apartment construction began.

The design of the new church was commissioned in October 2018 and went through a 2-month design period in 1, and in January 2020 a contractor was selected through a construction bid. On March 31, 2020 construction began with the groundbreaking ceremony for the new church building (officiated by Bishop Timothy Yu Gyeong-chon). After celebrating the last Sunday Mass in the temporary church on August 1, 2021, the move began and the parish entered the present church building, and on August 5 the entrance Mass for the new church was celebrated (officiated by Bishop Timothy Yu Gyeong-chon, with 19 people attending under COVID-19 Level 4 quarantine guidelines). On October 24, 2021 the dedication Mass for the new church was celebrated by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung. The chronology also records Confirmation on December 12, 2021 (44 people, officiated by Bishop Yu Gyeong-chon).

〔Fundraising Record for Church Construction〕 The parish chronology records by month the parishes and rounds that conducted the ‘parish (new construction) church-building fundraising’ from 2018 to 2022. It ran from Nonhyeon-dong Church (1 round) on November 4, 2018 to Dorim-dong Church (103 round) on April 24, 2022, and includes Sangam-dong (102 round) on December 7, 2021, among others.

〔After the New Church (2022–2025)〕 On May 8, 2022 Alberto Mun Yeong-min was appointed as the 13 chair of the pastoral council. On May 7, 2023 there was a celebration for the 30 anniversary of priestly ordination of Father Kim Seong-man, and Confirmation (54 people, officiated by Bishop Benedict Son Hee-song) on June 18, and on September 5, with a transfer of priests, Father Kim Seong-man began a sabbatical year and Father Cyril Park Su-hwan took office as the 6 pastor. On October 20, 2024 a parish unity feast was held to commemorate the 3 anniversary of the dedication of the new church, and in 2025 events commemorating the ‘20 anniversary of parish establishment’ continued, with an opening Mass on February 2, a blessing of companion animals on October 12, and the unveiling of a plaque of gratitude for the parish church construction and the closing Mass of the 20 anniversary on November 2. On September 21 all parishioners made a walking pilgrimage in Seoul (Danggogae Martyrs’ Shrine, Sacred Heart Church, Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine).

Jurisdiction and Affiliation

The jurisdiction disclosed on the parish website is Mangwoo-ro, Yangwonyeok-ro, parts of Songnim-gil, parts of Yongmasan-ro, and parts of Sinnaeyeok-ro, with a jurisdictional area of 1.76 km² and a jurisdictional population of 25,068 people. It introduces the faithful as 723 households, 1,672 people in total (714 men, 958 women). The address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea lists its affiliation as Dongdaemun-Jungnang District No. 7 in the East Seoul Region, its Korean name as ‘Yangwon (formerly Mangwoo 1-dong)’, its establishment date as 2005.1.27., the number of faithful as 1,128, and the number of mission chapels as 0. The numbers of faithful on the website and in the address book differ from each other.

Related Places and People

• Sinnae-dong Church: This parish separated from this church on January 27, 2005. The Mangwoo mission chapel faithful had been incorporated into district 7 of Sinnae-dong Church in January 2003.
• Mangwoo-dong Church: It is the mother parish where support for establishing the Mangwoo mission chapel gathered in August 1999.
• Successive pastors (parish website ‘Parish Priests’): 1 Paul Park Jun-ho (2005.02.15–2008.09.02, ordained 1994), 2 Peter Choi Cheol-yeong (2008.09.02–2011.02.22, ordained 1996), 3 Peter Yu Cheol (2011.02.22–2016.02.16, ordained 1993), 4 Andrew Kim Chung-seop Kim Dae-geon (2016.02.16–2018.08.28, ordained 1994), 5 Andrew Kim Seong-man (2018.08.28–2023.09.05, ordained 1993), current Cyril Park Su-hwan (2023.09.05–, ordained 2005).
• Charles Lee Jae-guk: He is a priest from Yangwon Church. Belonging to the Archdiocese of Seoul, he was ordained in 2012, and the website lists his current post as the Catholic Chaplaincy Office of Boramae Hospital in Seoul.
• Bishop Timothy Yu Gyeong-chon and Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung: They officiated (presided) at the groundbreaking and entrance Masses and at the dedication Mass for the new church, respectively.

References and Sources

1. Yangwon Church website, “Parish Introduction”. From the Mangwoo mission chapel to parish establishment, renaming, new church construction process, establishment date, patron saint, jurisdiction and number of faithful, biographies of pastors.
   http://xn--ok1bq3y8ldqob.org/sub0101
2. Yangwon Church website, “Parish History” (2005–2017, 2018–present). Parish events by year, relocation, groundbreaking, entrance and dedication of the church, Confirmation, arrival and departure of priests, fundraising record for church construction.
   http://xn--ok1bq3y8ldqob.org/sub0102
3. Yangwon Church website, “Parish Priests”. Tenures and ordination years of successive pastors, priest from the parish.
   http://xn--ok1bq3y8ldqob.org/sub0104
4. Online address book of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, “Yangwon (formerly Mangwoo 1-dong)”. Affiliated district, establishment date, patron, number of faithful.
   https://directory.cbck.or.kr/OnlineAddress/Catholic/DetailInfo.aspx?cgubn=c&char=all&code=201000093&gubn=4&gubn2=all&gyogu=201000011