예수회

History & origins

The Society of Jesus entered Korea in 1955 and, as the Korean Jesuit community grew, gradually established structures and houses for formation and apostolic work. A chronology of the Korean Province published by the Sogang University Alumni Association records that a Jesuit theologate was established in 1974.

The current Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea directory lists the community at 22 Kkachisan-ro 24-gil in Hwagok-dong as “St. Aloysius House / Theologate.” The present Hwagok-dong community can therefore be identified as a place continuing the theological formation function institutionalized by the Jesuits in Korea from the 1970s onward.

The available chronology, however, does not separately state when the theologate moved to or began occupying the present Hwagok-dong site. For that reason, the year 1974 is not presented as the construction or opening date of the current property; the documented founding of the theologate and the present address are kept distinct.