God's Retreat House

History & origins

The present Gatteungi Retreat House grew out of a retreat facility formerly operated by the Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation. In April 2010, the Diocese of Suwon acquired the religious property, surrounding woodland, and the existing retreat house in order to create a more specialized space for the retreat and formation of adolescents and young adults. The acquisition formed part of a broader effort to strengthen diocesan youth-ministry infrastructure.

The diocese concluded that the existing building alone could not meet expanding needs for formation and retreats, and it therefore developed a new annex. Construction began in June 2011 and was completed after about a year and five months. On November 17, 2012, Bishop Matthias Lee Yong-hoon of Suwon presided over the blessing of the new building. It included a dining hall, meeting rooms, classrooms, a large hall, a church, and lodging for volunteers and retreat leaders.

At the time of the blessing, the diocese explicitly described the facility as both a spiritual place of rest and a center of formation for adolescents and young adults. The older building served primarily for lodging and administration, while the new structure supported education, liturgy, and larger gatherings. Youth retreats, praise retreats, and young-adult renewal programs followed, making Gatteungi one of the important centers of diocesan youth ministry.

Although the range of participants and programs has broadened over time, its basic identity has remained: a place where younger generations renew their faith through prayer and communal experience. The history of Gatteungi Retreat House is thus the story of a former religious-order facility acquired and expanded by the diocese into a specialized center for youth and young-adult retreats and formation.