Jukjeon Church

History & origins

Jukjeon Parish was established on August 4, 1998, as residential development expanded across the Suji area. Dedicated to St. Agnes Kim Hyo-ju, the new parish began as an independent pastoral center bringing together Catholics in the rapidly growing Jukjeon living area.

Over time the parish strengthened not only its liturgical space but also facilities for education and community life. According to the Diocese of Suwon Construction Office, work to expand the Jukjeon Parish education center and rectory began on March 12, 2020, and was completed on February 9, 2021. This expansion responded to the pastoral needs of a parish whose community and range of activities had grown.

In 2023 the parish celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of its establishment. In preparation for the anniversary, the community organized a series of invited Masses and lectures, concerts, and pilgrimages while continuing to develop spaces and programs for faith formation. The history of Jukjeon Catholic Church is thus the story of a parish founded amid the urban growth of Suji and gradually expanding its educational and communal facilities as its pastoral mission developed. The expansion of the education center and rectory took concrete form through an architectural competition in 2019. The plan included a basement hall, education facilities, a convent, and a rectory, reorganizing the parish’s limited auxiliary spaces. Construction then began in March 2020 and was completed in February 2021. This expansion represented a stage different from the initial securing of a church: the now-established parish was rebuilding its infrastructure for the long-term operation of education, fellowship, and pastoral ministry. For its twenty-fifth anniversary, the community did not focus only on buildings. From April through October 2023 it held monthly invited Masses and lectures as well as concerts and pilgrimages. These activities show that, since its establishment in 1998, the parish had come to measure growth not only by facilities or numbers but also by faith formation, spiritual maturity, and participation in community life. The first twenty-five years of Jukjeon Parish can thus be summarized as the development of an independent parish amid urban growth, followed by the parallel expansion of both pastoral space and pastoral programs.