Dandae-dong Catholic Church

Overview

Dandae-dong Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Suwon, located in Geumgwang-dong, Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. It was separated and established from Sujin-dong Parish on October 5, 1976, and began when the Missionary Society of St. Columban took charge of church construction and parish ministry at the time the Gwangju Grand Complex was being formed. Its patron saint is Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

History

[Background] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, from April 1969 residents of over 5 ten thousand unauthorized buildings forcibly demolished in downtown Seoul collectively migrated to the Dandae-ri and Sujin-ri area of Jungbu-myeon, Gwangju-gun, Gyeonggi-do, located in the valley southwest of Namhansanseong, and thereafter the Gwangju Grand Complex (Seongnam Complex) was formed in this area and the population began to grow. As the number of faithful under the jurisdiction of Sujin-dong Parish (then Seongnam Parish) surged, the diocese planned, as part of its pastoral policy, to establish the 2 parish in Seongnam, and in May 1974 purchased 938 pyeong of church land at Dandae-3-dong, No. 769 (the present parish site). The Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia also writes that as the Gwangju Grand Complex was formed and an industrial complex was built, the population and Catholic faithful increased, so in October 1976 the Diocese of Suwon entrusted the construction of the church and parish ministry to the Missionary Society of St. Columban, marking the beginning of the history of Dandae-dong Church.

[Establishment of the Parish and Construction of the Church] According to the encyclopedia, construction began in September 1976 with the support of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, and in the course of the work the parish was established on October 5 of that year, with the construction of the church and parish ministry entrusted to the Missionary Society of St. Columban. On November 4, 1976, the 1-story framework of the church was completed and the first Mass was celebrated. The building completed through this 1 phase of construction consisted of 117 pyeong for the church, catechesis rooms and convent, 30 pyeong for the rectory, and 15 pyeong for other ancillary facilities. In December of the same year, a branch of the Congregation of the Consolation Eucharist was installed and began to cooperate in ministry, and in 1978, construction to expand the church was started and on August 15 the expanded 2-story church was blessed. In May 1979 the old 1-story church was remodeled into catechesis rooms, and on June 6 the completion and blessing ceremony of the church was held with Bishop Kim Nam-su presiding. The rectory was expanded in October 1983 and the convent was renovated in June 1984, and in January 1991 work to expand the church resumed and it was transformed into its present appearance, with the expansion comprising 206 pyeong for the church (connected to the existing church), 28 pyeong for the choir loft, and 34 pyeong for the convent. In October 1992 the existing rectory was demolished and newly built as a 3-story building (114 pyeong).

[Division] According to the encyclopedia, Dandae-dong Parish purchased 360 pyeong of church land at Sangdaeweon-dong, No. 1753 in February 1978, and divided off Sangdaeweon Parish in June 1979 and Sinheung-dong Parish in September 1984, respectively. The Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia writes that when Sangdaeweon Church was separated and newly established on June 30, 1979, 1,031 faithful transferred to Sangdaeweon Church, and when Sinheung-dong Church, the fifth parish in the Seongnam area, was established on September 6, 1984, 964 faithful left to form Sinheung-dong Church.

[Growth and Activities] According to the encyclopedia, the parish, which in its early days focused on building the church and organizing the registers of incoming faithful, sought from the 1980s to re-educate the faithful and to revitalize the pastoral council, devotional associations, and ban organizations. Through community revitalization through the ban organization and the activities of the evangelization association organized by 15 districts, it produced an annual average of 400 baptisms. Although located in a hillside village and with most of the faithful being factory workers, since 1984 welfare expenses such as living assistance, medical assistance, scholarships, and aid to other parishes accounted for 10% of the parish budget, and in April 1987 it formed a sisterhood relationship with Docheok Parish, a rural parish, exchanging joint retreats and direct trade of agricultural products. The Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia writes that in December 1982 Father Ha Jae-byeol, then pastor, founded the Human Development Research Institute and carried out volunteer counseling for marginalized people in the local community and those suffering from family troubles, and that since 1984 the parish has spent 10% of its parish budget on community welfare, opening the church as a wedding hall for the local community, thus realizing the spirit of a sharing community. The encyclopedia writes that at the time of compilation the land and church facilities were cramped relative to its strength, so division of the faithful through the creation of a new parish was urgently needed.

[Successive Pastors and Church Strength] The successive pastors listed in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia are the first, Francis Mannion (F. Mannion, Myeong) (1976.10~1978.11), the 2, John Brazil (Sean Brazil, Jin) (1978.11~1982.4), the 3, Michael Ha Jae-byeol (1982.4~1992.2), and the 4, Simon Im Chung-seung (1992.2~). The Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia writes that after the 9 pastor, Father Andrea Yi Yong-gi (2011.8.30~2015.12.15), the 10 pastor, Father Peter Ham Mun-ju (2015.12.15~2020.6.16), and the 11 pastor, Father Joseph Lee Gyu-seong (2020.6.16~2022.12.20), Father Christopher Kim Gil-min took office as the 12 pastor on December 20, 2022, and that as of 2024, Father Kim Gil-min was the pastor. The strength recorded in the encyclopedia was 2,404 faithful in 1976, 3,275 faithful in 1980, 4,613 faithful in 1985, 7,651 faithful in 1990, and 9,184 faithful in 1993. Its jurisdiction was, according to the encyclopedia, Geumgwang 1-dong and 2-dong, Eunhaeng 1-dong and 2-dong, part of Jung-dong in Jungwon-gu, and the entire Dandae-dong and Yangji-dong area in Sujeong-gu, while the Culture Encyclopedia lists, as of 2024, Geumgwang-1-dong, Geumgwang-2-dong, Eunhaeng-dong and Jungang-dong in Jungwon-gu, and Dandae-dong in Sujeong-gu.

Related Places and People

• Sujin-dong Parish: It is the mother parish of Dandae-dong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia).
• Sangdaeweon Parish (1979) and Sinheung-dong Parish (1984): They are parishes divided from Dandae-dong Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Docheok Parish: It is a rural parish that formed a sisterhood relationship with Dandae-dong Parish in April 1987 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Missionary Society of St. Columban: In 1976 it was entrusted by the Diocese of Suwon with the construction of Dandae-dong Church and parish ministry (Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Dandae-dong Parish”. Background of establishment and parish establishment in 1976, church construction and expansion, division, welfare and sisterhood relationship, successive pastors, church strength.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/1204
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Seongnam Culture Encyclopedia “Dandae-dong Church” (Written by Yun Yong-bok and Jo Nam-du). Establishment in 1976, separation of Sangdaeweon and Sinheung-dong and number of transferred faithful, Father Ha Jae-byeol’s Human Development Research Institute, successive pastors, present status.
   https://seongnam.grandculture.net/seongnam/toc/GC00100623