Kwangjeok Catholic Church

Overview

Gwangjeok Church is a church in Gwangseok-ri, Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, belonging to the Catholic Diocese of Uijeongbu. It traces its roots of faith to the Ugol Catholic mission chapel (1903) formed by descendants of Saint John Nam Jong-sam who settled there to escape the Byeongin Persecution, and was approved as a parish in 2005. It has a migrant community (KFCC).

History

According to the Digital Yangju Culture Encyclopedia, after the Byeongin Persecution, about 1872, 6 households descended from Nam Jong-sam settled in Ugo-ri, Gwangjeok-myeon as the foundation, and Mass was celebrated at the Ugol Catholic mission chapel belonging to Gaeseong Parish from 1903 until 1923. The parish homepage history states that the last Mass was celebrated as the Ugol Catholic mission chapel of Gaeseong Parish on March 5, 1923. It was later incorporated into Deokjeong Parish and Uijeongbu Parish and then closed in 1967, while the date of incorporation into Deokjeong is recorded differently as 1936 in the Culture Encyclopedia and as on July 8, 1930 on the parish homepage.

According to the parish homepage, heavy snow collapsed the mission chapel on January 12, 2001, a temporary mission Mass was celebrated in a makeshift structure on the rooftop of a parishioner’s home on February 3, 2002, and the first Mass was celebrated in the restored chapel on July 6, 2003. The Culture Encyclopedia contains the record that approval was given as the Gwangjeok mission of Nogyang-dong Parish on May 16, 1999. The time of incorporation under Baekseok Church is recorded differently as in October 2002 in the Culture Encyclopedia and as on October 1, 2004 on the parish homepage.

The site for building the church was donated by parishioner James U Seok-ho (the Culture Encyclopedia says a couple). The donation date is recorded differently as on March 7, 2003 in the Culture Encyclopedia and on March 7, 2005 on the parish homepage, and the area is recorded as 3,967 m² in the Culture Encyclopedia and 1,236 pyeong on the homepage. The church building was completed in October 2005 and a dedication Mass was celebrated. Parish approval is recorded as on November 24, 2005 in the Culture Encyclopedia and on November 11, 2005 on the homepage, and on December 4, 2005 the 1 parish priest, Father Joseph Choe Seok-jin, celebrated the first Mass. The first Mass of the migrant community was held on February 20, 2011, and the migrant community (KFCC) was founded on April 16.

Architecture and Space

The church built in 2005 is described as consisting of a church and a rectory-cum-office building. The parish history records in 2022 the blessing of the Marian garden and the installation of stained glass in the arched entrance door.

Religious Significance and Visiting Context

The Digital Yangju Culture Encyclopedia assesses that this church continued from a Catholic village of Nam Jong-sam’s descendants who migrated to escape early persecution, through a mission chapel to a church, and is one of the early Catholic propagation centers in northern Gyeonggi with a history of more than 100 years. As for the patron saint, the Culture Encyclopedia gives Saint John Nam Jong-sam, while the parish homepage history records the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the patron at the time of parish approval, so the sources differ.

Related Places and Figures

• Saint John Nam Jong-sam: the figure whose descendants settled in Ugo-ri
• Yangju Baekseok Church: the church to which the Gwangjeok mission once belonged
• Gaeseong Parish, Deokjeong Parish and Uijeongbu Parish: the parishes to which the Ugol mission belonged in turn

References and Sources

1. Academy of Korean Studies, Digital Yangju Culture Encyclopedia ‘Gwangjeok Church’. The settlement of Nam Jong-sam’s descendants, the Ugol mission, mission approval, parish approval, building composition and evaluation were verified.
   https://yangju.grandculture.net/yangju/toc/GC04301248
2. Official homepage of Gwangjeok Church, Diocese of Uijeongbu, Church History. The last Mass of the Ugol mission, the collapse and restoration of the mission, the land donation, parish approval and the founding history of the migrant community were verified.
   https://sd.uca.or.kr/kj/default.aspx?mnucd=20003289