Giheung Church

Overview

Giheung Church is a church belonging to the 1 Vicariate of the Suwon Diocese, located at 12-15 , 43-gil, Gomae-ro (Gongse-dong), Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. It was established September 2, 2008 by separating from Boradong Parish (Holy Family Church), and its patron saint is St. Paul the Apostle. After using a temporary prefabricated church building, it held a groundbreaking Mass for a new church building October 3, 2024 and celebrated the dedication Mass for the new church building April 25, 2026.

History

[Separation and foundation] The parish history on the Giheung Church website states that Giheung Parish separated in 2008 from Boradong (Holy Family) Church as Gongse-dong Church and that Father Peter Kim Jin-woo took office as the first pastor. The Catholic Newspaper (2026) states that Giheung Parish separated from Boradong Parish September 2, 2008, and the clergy page on the website lists the first pastor Father Kim Jin-woo’s term as from September 2, 2008 to August 29, 2011.

[Name and early years] According to the history, March 10, 2009 the proposal to change the name to Giheung St. Paul Church, with St. Paul the Apostle as patron saint, was approved, and in the same year August 30 the parish celebrated a Mass commemorating the 1th anniversary of its establishment. June 2011 it held its first Parish Day event. The website’s introduction to the patron saint explains that St. Paul the Apostle had persecuted Christians before his conversion, but after meeting the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus he became an apostle proclaiming the Gospel, and because he preached the Gospel especially to the Gentiles he is called the Apostle to the Gentiles.

[The 2010s] According to the history, August 2011 Father Thomas Aquinas Mun Jang-won took office as the 2nd pastor of the parish, and in the same year November Confirmation was celebrated by the dean of the Yongin Vicariate. In 2013, the parish celebrated a Mass commemorating the 5th anniversary of its foundation and completed remodeling of the parish lounge and restrooms, giving the temporary church building its form. The history dates the appointment of the 3th pastor, Father Barnabas Shin Seong-nam, to June 2013, while the clergy page dates it to June 17, 2014. In 2015, 72 people received Confirmation, and the parish produced its first seminarian, Andrew Daegeon Park Sang-chan, whom it sent to France for study. In 2016, 19 children received First Holy Communion, and in 2017, 39 people received Confirmation. June 2017 Father Luke Yu Jeong-su took office as the 4nd pastor, and in 2018 the parish held an event commemorating the 10th anniversary of its establishment at Donggang Sistar Resort.

[First priest from the parish] According to the history, the diaconal ordination of seminarian Park Sang-chan was held October 2018 at St. Joseph Church of the Carmel in Paris, and December 2019 he was ordained a priest, becoming the first priest from the parish. The clergy page lists the ordination date of Father Andrew Daegeon Park Sang-chan as December 6, 2019.

[The 2020s and construction of the new church] The history states that after 2020 the parish faced a crisis of faith and community due to the COVID-19 crisis, but after Father Thomas Aquinas Hyun Min-su took office as the 5th pastor June 2022, the parish achieved results including the revival of the elementary and middle/high school Sunday schools, reorganization of districts, zones and groups, revival of the women’s small Christian communities and establishment of men’s small Christian communities, a campaign to find new families (26 baptisms), Confirmation (37 people), and a Bible-copying campaign by all parishioners. In the same year September 17, the Parish Day event was held for the first time in 5 years. April 2023 all parishioners resolved to build a new church building, received approval for construction from the diocese, and December 30, 2023 signed a design contract with Dongwon Architecture Design Office. According to the history, pledges (33 billion won from 250 households) and offerings were made in this process. July 2024 the parish moved to a temporary church building for the construction of the new church, August 20 selected Arisu Engineering Co., Ltd. as the builder, and October 3 celebrated the groundbreaking Mass for the new church building.

[Dedication of the new church] The history states that the first Mass was celebrated in the new church March 29, 2026 (1,062nd day after resolving to build the new church) and that the dedication Mass for the new church was celebrated April 25, 2026. According to the Catholic Newspaper (2026-05-03, No. 3489), the dedication Mass was celebrated by Auxiliary Bishop John the Baptist Moon Hee-jong, vicar general of the diocese, and in his homily Bishop Moon said that Giheung Parish, which had separated from Boradong Parish 2008 years earlier, had set up a temporary prefabricated church building here and, accepting inconvenience, had nurtured the dream of building a new church. The newspaper reported that the faithful, a small community of about 1,330 people, had united their hearts for the construction of the new church by offering 7,370 decades of 175 million Rosaries over 2 years from April 2024.

[Successive pastors] According to the clergy page, the pastors are: 1st, Peter Kim Jin-woo (2008.9.2–2011.8.29); 2nd, Thomas Mun Jang-won (2011.8.30–2014.6.16); 3rd, Barnabas Shin Seong-nam (2014.6.17–2017.6.12); 4th, Luke Yu Jeong-su (2017.6.13–2022.6.13); and 5th, Thomas Aquinas Hyun Min-su (2022.6.14–present).

Architecture and Space

The Catholic Newspaper (2026) states that the newly built church has a site area of 2,826 square meters and a total floor area of 2,358.07 square meters, with 1 basement floor and 4 above-ground floors, consisting of offices and a multipurpose room on the 1th floor, catechesis rooms and the rectory on the 2th floor, the church on the 3th floor, and the choir loft on the 4th floor. The history states that the design contractor was Dongwon Architecture Design Office and the builder was Arisu Engineering Co., Ltd. The parish website has a Parish Construction Archive menu posting weekly construction photographs from November 2025 to March 2026.

Related Places and People

• Boradong Parish (Holy Family Church): the mother parish from which Giheung Church separated in 2008 (Giheung Church history, Catholic Newspaper).
• Father Andrew Daegeon Park Sang-chan: the first priest from the parish, ordained December 6, 2019 (Giheung Church history and clergy page).
• Jurisdiction: the Catholic Newspaper states that Giheung Parish has jurisdiction over Gomae-dong and Gongse-dong in Giheung-gu, Yongin-si.

References and Sources

1. Giheung Church, Suwon Diocese, parish history. Separation in 2008, name approval in 2009, appointments of pastors, first priest from the parish, and new church construction process in 2023–2026.
   https://www.cagiheung.or.kr/history
2. Giheung Church, Suwon Diocese, clergy. Terms of successive pastors and priest from the parish.
   https://www.cagiheung.or.kr/priest
3. Giheung Church, Suwon Diocese, patron saint. Introduction to St. Paul the Apostle.
   https://www.cagiheung.or.kr/patron
4. Catholic Newspaper, “Suwon Diocese Giheung Parish Celebrates Dedication Mass for New Church” (published 2026-05-03, No. 3489, p. 2). Separation September 2, 2008, dedication Mass, size and floor layout of the new church, and offering of Rosaries.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/20260426500103