Jeongseon Church

History & origins

The establishment of a parish in Jeongseon took concrete shape in the mid-1950s as local Catholics joined together to create an independent church and parish. The Catholic Encyclopedia of Korea records that in March 1956 Catholics in the Jeongseon area formed a committee for the establishment of a parish and construction of a church, and that ground was broken that October. Because one pastoral territory had to cover a broad mountainous area, the need for an independent parish was substantial.

After construction was completed, Jeongseon Parish was separated from Yeongwol Parish and established on April 12, 1957, and the church was dedicated the same day. Its first pastor was Father Francis Ferrie of the Missionary Society of St. Columban. The early territory extended well beyond Jeongseon-eup to areas including Bukpyeong and Im-gye, and mission stations established after the parish's founding made it an important base for evangelization in the mountain region.

When the Diocese of Wonju was established in 1965, Jeongseon Parish became part of the new diocese. In 1971 the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary established a community in Jeongseon and assisted the parish apostolate. As local Catholic communities grew, areas including Auraji and Im-gye later developed into separate parish jurisdictions, gradually reducing Jeongseon's territory to its present scope.

The current Catholic directory lists St. Ignatius Kim Je-jun as the parish patron, while the older Catholic Encyclopedia names St. Columban. The date and process of that change require further verification, so this history does not speculate about when it occurred. Instead it follows the documented sequence of parish establishment, incorporation into the Diocese of Wonju, participation of the religious community, and the later division of its pastoral territory.