Geumdae Mission Station

About this place

Geumdae Mission Station belongs to Pungsuwon Parish in the Diocese of Wonju and carries on the tradition of the old Catholic village of Geumdae-ri in Seowon-myeon, Hoengseong County. A Catholic Peace Newspaper field report identifies it as a mission station under Pungsuwon Parish, while the Guide to the Catholic Church in Korea also lists it among the mission stations of the Diocese of Wonju. It is both a place where Catholics scattered through a mountain village remain connected with their parish for prayer and liturgical life and a site that makes the history of Catholic villages around Pungsuwon tangible.

The Diocese of Wonju pilgrimage route introduces Geumdae as a Catholic village formed by believers who came to the mountains after persecution, and treats the present mission station as a pilgrimage point continuing that memory. Catholic reporting also records that Geumdae maintained a strong Catholic community over many years and produced a number of priests and religious. Although Geumdae today is a small mountain mission station, its local community, memories of vocations, and connection with Pungsuwon Parish overlap to make it a meaningful marker of regional Catholic history in the Diocese of Wonju. Pilgrims can see in the present community how a mountain Catholic village formed after persecution remained part of the local church.