Munmak Catholic Church

Overview

Munmak Church is a church in Munmak-eup, Wonju-si, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, belonging to the Diocese of Wonju. On September 10, 1958, it was elevated from a Catholic mission chapel under Hakseong-dong Parish to a parish, with St. Peter the Apostle as patron. It oversees the Buron and Songok Catholic mission chapels, and its building is said to have been built by relocating the red bricks of Wondong Church destroyed in the war.

History

[Mission-chapel era] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Buron-myeon area under Munmak Parish is a place where believers hid from persecution and lived their faith from early on. From the record that Choe Hae-seong (John), who lived in Seoji in Songok-ri, Buron-myeon, was arrested during the Gihae Persecution and martyred in Wonju prison on October 6, 1839, it can be seen that believers had lived there before that time, but the later history of evangelization does not appear in church history for a long time. As persecution ended, the faith community formed again, and the first priest to visit the Munmak area was Father Robert (Kim Borok), who was in charge of Gyeongsang-do and Gangwon-do. He first visited here in 1882 and established Munmak (Jangdeul in Beopcheon-ri, Buron-myeon today) and the neighboring Bueonggol community (Bupyeong-ri, Gangcheon-myeon, Yeoju-gun, Gyeonggi-do today) as Catholic mission chapels, and in 1883 the numbers of believers in the two chapels were 37 each.

Father Maraval, who had entered the country that year, resided as a professor of the seminary at the Bueonggol Catholic mission chapel, where the Sacred Heart Seminary had been established as of October 28, 1885, and cared for nearby believers, while the Munmak Catholic mission chapel came under the jurisdiction of Yeomsan-ri Parish (the predecessor of Mangdap Parish), which Father Degette took charge of after 1885. At that time there were 36 believers in the Munmak chapel and 47 believers in the Bueonggol chapel. As the seminary in Bueonggol moved to Yongsan in Seoul in March 1887, Father Degette again took charge of both chapels, and as the Wonsimi chapel (Dojeon-ri, Gangcheon-myeon, Yeoju-gun) was newly established, the number of believers in Munmak, that is, the Jangdeul chapel, fell to 20. Although Pungsuwon Parish was newly established in 1888, the chapels in the Munmak area remained under Yeomsan-ri Parish, and in 1889 Father Le Viel settled temporarily in Bueonggol and in 1890 Father Oudot settled temporarily in Wonsimi to administer the sacraments to nearby believers. In 1891 and from 1892 to 1893, Father Le Mer of Pungsuwon Parish took charge of the Jangdeul and Wonsimi chapels, from 1892 to 1893 Father Martin took charge of Bueonggol Parish, and in 1894 Father Bouillon took charge of Bueonggol Parish and oversaw all nearby chapels. At that time the numbers of believers were 96 in Bueonggol, 81 in Wonsimi, and 45 in Jangdeul. After Father Bouillon moved the parish to Janghowon, Chungcheongbuk-do (Gamgok) on September 17, 1896, these chapels briefly belonged to Pungsuwon Parish, then changed to Wonju Parish when Father Le Mer established Wonju (present-day Wondong) Parish. The Bueonggol chapel was closed in the early 1900s due to the migration of believers, but the Jangdeul and Wonsimi chapels were maintained, with 26 and 167 believers respectively in 1924. In the early 1900s a faith community formed in Bamsanggol (Bangye-ri, Munmak-eup today), and Dudukmal (Heungho-ri, Buron-myeon today) was established as a chapel.

[Establishment of the parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Jangdeul chapel under Wonju Parish was later renamed the Buron chapel. It maintained around 30 believers until liberation in 8-15, then grew to around 80 as refugees settled after the Korean War. In contrast, the believers’ community formed in the Munmak area in the early 1900s disintegrated, and around 1938 a few households of believers who had moved back to Munmak began to gather at the house of Park Il-jun for meetings. Later, Father Jeong Gyu-ryang (Leo), pastor of Wonju Parish, established this place as a chapel (chairman Park Sun-won), with about 50 believers at the time and around 90 when Father Deery (Lee) of Wonju Parish ministered after liberation. When the number of believers reached about 100, a chapel hall was built in 1948 on the site of the present parish, but it burned down during the war. In 1956 Father Deery had assistant priest Yang Dae-seok (Aloysius) promote the construction of a church for the establishment of Munmak Parish, and the next year a church and a rectory were built, though the parish was not established immediately.

Father Yang Dae-seok, who succeeded Father Deery as pastor of Wonju Parish, planned the division of the parish and separated Hakseong-dong Parish on June 1, 1957, so that the Munmak chapel came under the new parish. The next year, on September 10, it was elevated to Munmak Parish, and Father Lee Eung-hyeon (Theodore) was appointed as the first pastor. The Wonju Diocese pilgrimage guide (Diocese of Wonju) writes that the chapel in Munmak began around 1938, that believers gathered hiding from persecution in the mountains of Buron from the 1830s, and that there were several Christian villages nearby. The same guide explains that around Munmak Church there were Christian villages such as Bueonggol, Jangtteul, and Dudukmal from the persecution era, that Bishop Mutel visited in October 1900, and that these villages grew into today’s Munmak Parish and Buron Parish.

[Development after elevation] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, after elevation to a parish the believers strove for settlement and local evangelization despite the constraints of a rural area. During the tenure of the 2th pastor, Father Lee Jeong-gyu, the Songok chapel was established in 1962, and with the groundbreaking for the new Buron chapel hall on January 26 of the following year, the chapel hall for the Songok chapel was built with materials from the old hall, and on May 2, 1964 the Buron hall (57 pyeong) was completed and blessed in a ceremony officiated by Bishop Quinlan, the first bishop of the Diocese of Chuncheon. On March 22, 1965, as the Diocese of Wonju was separated and newly established from the Diocese of Chuncheon, Munmak Parish also came to belong to the new diocese. On December 9 of that year the Munmak Credit Cooperative was founded, and on September 7 of the following year the Marian Association was launched. On September 7, 1969, Lee Cheon-ho (Paul), a graduate of the Catholic Catechetical Theological Institute, came to the parish and helped the 4th pastor Father Kelly and the 5nd pastor Father McFadden organize various groups and publish the parish bulletin. Father McFadden purchased 1,500 pyeong of land next to the Munmak substation and ran a nonprofit pig-farming business for nearby residents.

During the tenure of the 10th pastor Father Kelly, a daycare center was opened at the Buron chapel on September 21, 1980, and in February 1981 the Sisters of the Holy Heart of Mary of Mirinae were invited, while in 1984 under the 13th pastor Father Jang Seok-yun the Marian Kindergarten was founded. The 15th pastor Father Lee Yeong-seop built a new convent in 1988 and the following year all parishioners together built the Marian grotto. The 16th pastor Father Ryu Chung-hui carried out the church bell tower and roof renovation in 1992 and prepared a 40-week Bible program in 1994, and after the appointment of the 17rd pastor Father Kim Chang-su, district and group leader meetings were strengthened as part of small-community revitalization. The encyclopedia writes that the parish went through a period of decline due to rural exodus, but from the 1990s, as industrial and apartment complexes were built in its jurisdiction, the Yeongdong Expressway was expanded, and the area was elevated to Munmak-eup on March 1, 1995, church strength grew and the parish sought financial self-reliance and revitalization.

[Jurisdiction and church statistics] The jurisdiction recorded by the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is the entire Munmak-eup of Wonju-si and part of Buron-myeon, with 2 chapels, Buron and Songok. Church membership was 397 in 1959, 619 in 1963, 848 in 1966, 770 in 1971, 725 in 1975, 897 in 1980, 805 in 1985, 748 in 1990, and 901 in 1995. It records that the parish has, centered on the pastoral council, 4 praesidia of the Legion of Mary, the Marian Association, the teachers’ association, the choir, the St. Peter’s Association for adult men, and the St. Anna’s Association for women aged 60 and older.

[Successive pastors] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the following served: first Lee Eung-hyeon Theodore (1958.9-1961.7), 2th Lee Jeong-gyu Bio (1961.7-1966.10), 3st Delany (R. Delaney, Do) Ricardo (1966.10-1968.2), 4th Kelly (P. Kelly, Gyeong) Peter (1968.2-1969.12), 5th McFadden (M. McFadden, Nam) Michael (1969.12-1972.2), 6th O’Loughlin (M. O’Loughin, O) Michael (1972.2-1973.6), 7rd McFadden (1973.6-1975.6), 8th O’Loughlin (1975.7-1978.10), 9th Conway (P. Conway, Gu) Patrick (1978.10-1980.1), 10nd Kelly (J. Kelly, Lee) Jeremiah (1980.1-1981.9), 11th Kelly (P. Kelly, Gyeong) Peter (1981.9-1982.6), 12th Kim Jong-in Matthew (1982.6-1983.5), 13th Jang Seok-yun Bio (1983.5-1985.6), 14th No Se-hyeon Matthias (1985.6-1987.9), 15th Lee Yeong-seop Francis (1987.9-1992.1), 16th Ryu Chung-hui Daecheol Peter (1992.1-1996.2), and 17rd Kim Chang-su Andrea (1996.2-).

Architecture and Space

The Wonju Diocese pilgrimage guide writes that the church building at the time of the parish in 1958 was built by bringing the red bricks of Wondong Church destroyed in the war. The same guide explains that the present church was expanded and dedicated in 2020 on the basis of the old building.

The Wonju City tourism guide introduces that Munmak Church was remodeled in 2019, equipped with a museum and parking lot, and that religious artifacts can be seen up close, making it an essential course for church pilgrimages.

The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia records that the chapel hall built on the present parish site in 1948 burned down during the war, that a church and rectory were built in 1957, and that the church bell tower and roof were renovated in 1992.

Related Places and People

• Hakseong-dong Church (Wonju): the parish separated from Wonju Parish on June 1, 1957, under which the Munmak chapel briefly came (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Buron and Songok chapels: the chapels overseen by Munmak Parish. The Buron chapel was renamed from the Jangdeul (Jangtteul) chapel, and the Songok chapel was established in 1962 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Seoji Village (Songok-ri, Buron-myeon): where Choe Hae-seong (John) lived at the time of the Gihae Persecution. The Wonju Diocese pilgrimage Section 1-4 “Seoji Riverside Road” runs from Munmak Church to Seoji Village with a total length of 21.6km (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Wonju Diocese pilgrimage route).
• Choe Hae-seong (John): a believer martyred in Wonju prison on October 6, 1839 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Wondong Church: introduced as the source of the red bricks for the Munmak Church building (Wonju Diocese pilgrimage route).

References and Sources

1. Research Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Munmak Parish”. Elevation to parish in 1958, chapel era and parish establishment process, development after elevation, church statistics, successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2140
2. Wonju Diocese Pilgrimage Route, “Section 1-4 Seoji Riverside Road”. Beginning of the Munmak chapel, elevation to Munmak Parish in 1958, early building made with bricks from Wondong Church, expansion and dedication in 2020.
   https://sunraegil.seoji.net/course/course_4
3. Wonju City Hall Wonju Tourism, “Munmak Church”. Remodeling in 2019, introduction as a church pilgrimage course.
   https://www.wonju.go.kr/tour/viewTnResrceDataT.do?key=5477&rcpp=12&resrceNo=10832&sc1=20&si1=50&tc10=Y