Bora-dong Catholic Church

History & origins

Bora-dong Parish was established on January 29, 2002, after being separated from Singal Parish as residential development and the Catholic population increased in the Giheung area of Yongin. According to a Diocese of Suwon record from the time, the new parish began with 1,009 Catholics. Although it had become an independent parish, it did not yet have a permanent church, and for about a year the community celebrated Mass and continued parish life in a temporary church made with vinyl sheeting.

The mother community of Singal played an important role in securing a permanent site. The diocesan record states that Catholics of Singal Parish helped obtain land of considerable value for the new church, and that the members of Bora-dong later presented them with a plaque of appreciation at the move-in ceremony. This shows that the new parish's independence was not a break with its mother parish but a separation made possible in part through the support of the older community.

The completed church was built with a steel and concrete structure, with several catechetical rooms on the first floor and the church on the second. On July 31, 2003, a move-in ceremony was celebrated with Bishop Matthias Lee Yong-hoon, then vicar general, presiding. About a year and a half after the parish was established, the community was able to leave its temporary vinyl church and gain permanent spaces for liturgy and religious education.

At the move-in Mass, the diocese encouraged the community to follow the example of the Holy Family and become a positive presence in local society. The meaning of the Holy Family and devotion to St. Joseph as patron continued to shape the parish's identity. The early history of Bora-dong Catholic Church therefore forms a clear sequence: separation from Singal Parish, a period in a temporary church, assistance with the site from the mother parish together with the efforts of the new community, and the move into the new church in 2003.