Sabuk Catholic Church

Overview

Sabuk Church is a church belonging to the Diocese of Wonju in Sabuk-eup, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province. It was established on October 20, 1976 as Gohan-Sabuk Parish, and on September 16, 1988 it was separated from Gohan Parish and Sabuk Parish was newly established. Its patron is St. John Bosco. During the Gohan-Sabuk Parish period, it opened a counseling center for mining labor issues and established the Taebaek area welfare center, working for industrial accident relief and human rights protection.

History

〔Before Gohan-Sabuk Parish〕 According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the Sabuk-Gohan area around 1959 was a newly risen mining district where population concentrated with full-scale coalfield development. The Gospel reached here in February 1961 when Father F. Ferrie (Hwang) of Jeongseon Parish baptized 4 catechumens, and in September of the same year Sabuk Catholic mission chapel was established. In May 1964 Sabuk Catholic mission chapel was transferred to the jurisdiction of Hambaek Parish, and afterwards a thatched house in front of the post office was used as the mission chapel hall. In October of the following year Father J. O’Brien (In), the first parish priest of Hambaek Parish, purchased 1,500 pyeong of the present church site, and on May 14, 1966 a mission chapel hall was newly built there and moved to. A mission chapel was also established in the Gohan area around the same time, and with the opening of the Taebaek Line in 1974, the incoming population of the two areas increased and the establishment of a parish was hastened.

〔Gohan-Sabuk Parish Period〕 According to the encyclopedia, on October 20, 1976 the diocese raised Gohan Catholic mission chapel and Sabuk Catholic mission chapel together to Gohan-Sabuk Parish and appointed Father W. Schmitt (Sim Byeong-deok) of the Missionary Society of St. Columban as the first parish priest. The history of the Diocese of Wonju also records the new establishment of Gohan-Sabuk Parish on October 20, 1976. Father Schmitt repaired the two mission chapel halls for use as churches while staying at the Gohan church rectory (now the convent) and traveling to Sabuk. When Father J. Nolan (No), parish priest 2, built a rectory at Sabuk Church and moved residence on October 21, 1979, the center of parish ministry moved from Gohan to Sabuk. Father Nolan built the ‘Sabuk Children’s Hall’ (55 pyeong) on December 31 of the following year, and on March 23, 1981 opened the ‘Sabuk Sacred Heart Daycare Center’ (closed in 1991).

From 1982, Korean priests who took office ministered with emphasis on this point, considering the special situation of a mining district. According to the encyclopedia, Father Barnabas Kim Yeong-jin, parish priest 4, opened the ‘Catholic Mining Labor Counseling Center’ (closed in 1991) in August 1985, and on April 5, 1987 established the ‘Catholic Taebaek Area Welfare Center’ and worked for industrial accident relief and human rights protection. In 1987, mining labor disputes connected with the nationwide great workers’ strike brought difficulties to Gohan-Sabuk Parish, including surveillance by the government. Even so, the faithful newly built Gohan Church (150 pyeong) in June 1988, and in August of that year purchased land in the Jeungsan area and built Jeungsan Catholic mission chapel (60 pyeong) and the nursing home ‘Monica’s House’ (50 pyeong), and on March 9, 1989 opened ‘Peter Daecheol House,’ a family-based small community for children from broken families.

〔Division and Change of the Parish〕 According to the encyclopedia, as it became difficult for one priest to minister traveling between Gohan and Sabuk, on September 16, 1988 the diocese divided Gohan-Sabuk Parish into Gohan Parish and Sabuk Parish, making Sabuk Parish the newly established parish and appointing Father Simon Kim Han-gi as parish priest. The history of the Diocese of Wonju also records that on September 16, 1988 Gohan-Sabuk Parish was divided to newly establish Sabuk Parish. Father Kim began church expansion work in September of the year after his arrival and completed it on November 9, and on November 27, 1991, with government support, newly built Peter Daecheol House in Mureung 3-ri, Nam-myeon, Jeongseon-gun. The encyclopedia notes that since 1988, mine closures increased under the government’s coal industry rationalization policy and the population fell sharply, increasing pastoral difficulties, but the parish expected parish development centered on tourism pastoral care as tourism and leisure facilities were planned for the area.

〔Jurisdiction and Church Statistics〕 The jurisdiction recorded by the encyclopedia is Sabuk-eup and the Nam-myeon area of Jeongseon-gun, and the affiliated mission chapels are 2 places in Jeungsan and Nam-myeon. Membership was in 1977 705, in 1983 1,123, in 1989 724, in 1993 783, and in 1996 803. Successive priests were, in the Gohan-Sabuk Parish period, the first Guglielmo Schmitt (1976. 10~1978. 10), James Nolan 2 (1978. 10~1982. 8), Felix Hong Rang-pyo 3 (1982. 8~1984. 3), interim Simon Shin Hyeon-man (1984. 3~9), and Barnabas Kim Yeong-jin 4 (1984. 9~1988. 9), and after the parish division, Simon Kim Han-gi 5 (1988. 9~1993. 2), John Bosco Yi Byeong-don 6 (1993. 2~1996. 9), and Matthias No Se-hyeon 7 (1996. 9~).

Related Places and People

• Gohan Parish: a parish created together with Sabuk Parish when Gohan-Sabuk Parish was divided on September 16, 1988 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jeongseon Parish: the Gospel reached Sabuk when Father Ferrie of this parish baptized 4 catechumens in the Sabuk area in February 1961 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Hambaek Parish: it had jurisdiction over Sabuk Catholic mission chapel from May 1964, and its first parish priest Father O’Brien purchased the present church site (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jeungsan Catholic mission chapel and Nam-myeon Catholic mission chapel: mission chapels under the jurisdiction of Sabuk Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Peter Daecheol House: a small community opened in 1989 for children from broken families, newly built in 1991 in Mureung 3-ri, Nam-myeon, Jeongseon-gun (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).

References and Sources

1. Institute of Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Sabuk Parish”. Mission chapel era, founding of Gohan-Sabuk Parish, labor ministry and welfare activities, parish division in 1988, church statistics and successive priests.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/2908
2. Diocese of Wonju, Diocesan History (1970s). New establishment of Gohan-Sabuk Parish on October 20, 1976.
   http://www.wjcatholic.or.kr/company/history?y=1970
3. Diocese of Wonju, Diocesan History (1980s). Division of Gohan-Sabuk Parish to newly establish Sabuk Parish on September 16, 1988.
   http://www.wjcatholic.or.kr/company/history?y=1980