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About this place
Gohan Catholic Church is a parish of the Taebaek district in the Diocese of Wonju, serving the Catholic community of Gohan-eup in Jeongseon County. The Guide to the Catholic Church in Korea identifies St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon as the parish patron and records Gohan-eup as its pastoral territory. Its present identity is that of the local parish where Mass, the sacraments, catechesis, and community life take place in a town that grew with the development of the coal-mining industry.
The significance of Gohan Parish is also closely tied to the memory of a mining town. The parish's own historical record and Catholic press accounts describe a Catholic community formed among miners and their families in the life of the region. Although the decline of mining brought major changes to the area's population and environment, the church has remained the Catholic center of Gohan-eup. Honoring St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon as patron, the parish has carried the ups and downs of industrial change and local community life. Its history shows that the Catholic community did not develop apart from the people of the area, but took shape within the growth and transformation of the mining town itself.
History & origins
The Catholic community in Gohan began as a mission station during a period of mountain settlement and the rapid development of coal mining. According to Gohan Parish's own historical record, in 1961 Father Ferrie of Jeongseon Parish established a mission station for slash-and-burn farmers, and in 1964 a mission hall was built at Samgallae in the Gohan area, then under Hambaek Parish. That building was lost in flooding, and on August 20, 1972, the community built another mission station in Gohan 7-ri to secure a place for Catholic life.
As the mining industry brought population growth to Gohan and Sabuk, the mission-station community was reorganized as a parish. On October 20, 1976, Gohan-Sabuk Parish was established to cover the two areas, with Father William Schmitt of the Missionary Society of St. Columban as its first pastor. The Guide to the Catholic Church in Korea likewise records October 20, 1976, as the foundation date of Gohan Parish.
Growth in the Catholic community and the needs of the mining town led to the construction of a new church. The Catholic Times reports that the building was completed in 1987 with support from Catholics around the country and the efforts of the parish community, and was consecrated by Bishop Daniel Tji Hak-soun on July 11, 1988. The parish stated at the time that it hoped the church would be open not only to Catholics but to the people of the area. The nationwide support that followed Catholic press coverage of the difficult conditions in the mining town also shows that the church building was created through solidarity between the local community and the wider Church.
In September of the same year, Sabuk Parish was separated and the existing Gohan-Sabuk Parish was reorganized as Gohan Parish. Although the decline of coal mining later transformed the population and living conditions of the area, the parish continued as the Catholic community of Gohan-eup under the patronage of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon. Its development from a mission station into a mining-town parish shows how the history of local industry and the formation of the Catholic community were intertwined.
Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia
Gohan Catholic Church: history and architecture
Read about the place's history, architecture, people, and events in the Korean Catholic Places Encyclopedia.
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Building information
- Passenger elevators: 0
- 2 above-ground floors · 1 below-ground floors
- Approved for use in 1987
- Total floor area: 605㎡
Building-register record · · Source
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Sources and updates
- Information Status
- Official
- Source
- Diocese source
- Data freshness
- Fresh
- Last updated
- Source
- Francisco Diary
Diocese
Wontong Diocese (Diocese of Wonju)
Official website: http://www.wjcatholic.or.kr
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