Yongsomak Church

Overview

Yongsomak Church is a church in Yongam-ri, Sillim-myeon, Wonju-si, Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province, belonging to the Diocese of Wonju. On May 4, 1904, it was elevated from a Catholic mission chapel under Wonju Parish to the third parish in Gangwon-do, and its patron is Our Lady of Lourdes. The church building completed in the fall of 1915 was designated as Gangwon-do Tangible Cultural Property No. 106 on May 23, 1986.

History

[Catholic Villages and Mission Chapels] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Catholicism reached Yongsomak around the time of the Byeongin Persecution. In 1866, during the Byeongin Persecution, faithful families fleeing from the Suwon area lived in the Pyeongchang area of Gangwon-do and then dispersed; some came down to Hwangdun and lived there for a while, and around 1890 they settled in Omi, Songhak-myeon, Jecheon-gun. The leader of the faithful there was Choe Do-cheol (Barnabas), who kept the faith while in hiding during the Byeongin Persecution, met Fr. Pouanel at the Gilma-don Catholic mission chapel in Jecheon (now Geumma-ri, Jucheon-myeon, Yeongwol-gun) in 1893, received the sacraments after 17 years, and was appointed catechist head by Fr. Le Mer of Pungsuwon Parish. Starting in 1893, one or two households at a time began moving from Omi to Yongsomak, and in 1898 Choe Do-cheol also moved to Yongsomak. On January 13, 1898, Choe Do-cheol built a thatched-roof chapel of 10 bays including a priest’s room together with 5–6 faithful, established the Yongsomak Catholic mission chapel under Wonju Parish, and became its first chapel head. In 1899, the year after the mission chapel opened, the Baek family living in Omi and the family of Seon Byeong-ro (Peter) living in Haengju moved to Yongsomak, forming a Catholic village, and on October 24, 1900, Bishop Mutel visited the place and blessed the new chapel.

[Elevation to Parish] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, when Baek Nak-hun, who was economically well-off, provided a house for the priest to use as a rectory, chapel head Choe Do-cheol petitioned Wonju Parish to elevate the Yongsomak mission chapel to a parish. Fr. Le Mer of Wonju Parish consulted with Fr. Jeong Gyu-ha of Pungsuwon Parish and proposed it to Bishop Mutel, and on May 4, 1904, Bishop Mutel approved it, so the Yongsomak mission chapel was elevated to a parish. Fr. Poyaud, who had entered the country in 1903, was appointed as the first pastor. The Catholic Newspaper (article in 2026) writes that Yongsomak Parish was the third parish established in Gangwon-do after Pungsuwon Parish (1888) and Wonju Parish (1896, now the cathedral Wondong Parish), and that at the time of establishment there were 864 faithful, the jurisdiction covered 5 counties of Wonju, Pyeongchang, Yeongwol, Jecheon and Danyang, and there were 17 mission chapels. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia writes that as a result of evangelization by Fr. Poyaud with the help of head Choe Do-cheol, head Seon Byeong-ro, Choe Do-cheol’s third son Choe Yeong-sik (Paul) and others, the number of faithful exceeded 1,000 after several years, and reached 1,238 by 1910 when Fr. Poyaud was transferred to Seoul. The Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture writes that Fr. Poyaud purchased a thatched-roof house and remodeled it for use as the church.

[Fr. Guillot and the Plan for a New Church] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Fr. Guillot, who had been a professor at Yongsan Seminary, was appointed as the 2rd pastor, and on November 12, 1910, one month after taking office, Bishop Mutel visited the parish and administered the sacraments of confirmation, marriage and confession to the faithful. In 1913, Fr. Guillot drew up a plan to build a new Western-style church and began transporting the timber needed for construction by taking advantage of the rainy season. In April 1914, Fr. Guillot was transferred to Yongsan Seminary, and Fr. Chizallet was appointed as the 3th pastor.

[Construction of the Present Church] The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia writes that Fr. Chizallet hired Chinese technicians introduced by chapel head Yi Seok-yeon of the Myojae Catholic mission chapel (now Haksan-ri, Bongyang-eup, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do) in the fall of 1914 and began full-scale construction of a new church, and that with all the faithful helping, including the family of chapel head Choe Do-cheol who was suffering from typhoid fever, a brick Western-style church of 100 pyeong was completed in the fall of 1915, 3 years after construction began. The Diocese of Wonju and Good News also write that it was completed 3 years after construction began, and the Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture writes that as soon as Fr. Chizallet took office he personally designed the church and brought Chinese technicians to begin construction, completing a brick Western-style church with a building area of 100 pyeong in the fall of 1915 after about 1 years, and held a consecration ceremony with Our Lady of Lourdes in France as patron. The construction period thus differs by source. The Korean Catholic Encyclopedia explains that the steep slope of the church roof was because the Chinese technicians did not build according to the drawings but cut 2 feet off the length of the pillars, and writes that the total number of faithful at the time was 2,081. The Catholic Newspaper (article in 2026) writes that the faithful fired the bricks used for the exterior walls in the village kiln site and carried them by hand, and that the pine pillars supporting the church interior were transported by taking advantage of the swollen streams in the rainy season. The rectory was also built together in 1915 and is located 5–6m higher than the church (Catholic Newspaper).

[Japanese Occupation and Jurisdiction Changes] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 5th pastor, Fr. Yi Cheol-yeon, founded the Association for the Deceased in 1929, and the construction and blessing of the Haksan mission chapel hall are recorded in two stages: in 1935 under the 5st pastor and in the spring of 1938 under the 6rd pastor, Fr. Baek Nam-hui. On April 25, 1939, when the Diocese of Chuncheon was separated and newly established from the Diocese of Seoul, Yongsomak Parish was transferred from the Diocese of Seoul to the Diocese of Chuncheon and placed under the jurisdiction of missionaries of the Columbans. The 7th pastor, Fr. Gallagher, elevated the Jecheon mission chapel within the jurisdiction to a parish in July 1940 and separated it, and in 1941 he established the Myeongdeok National Academy, a 4-year school, for eradicating illiteracy and evangelization, producing more than 50 graduates. In 1943, the church bell was requisitioned by the Japanese army (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Diocese of Wonju).

[The 6·25 War] When the 6·25 War broke out under the 10nd pastor, Fr. Ju Jae-yong, the church was used as a food warehouse for the communist army, the statue of the Virgin Mary inside the church was hit by bullets and its neck and body were damaged, and the church ceiling also suffered heavy bullet damage. The teachers of Myeongdeok National Academy and the parish pastoral documents were all burned, the chapel heads were dragged away by the communist army and suffered hardships, and ordinary faithful also suffered great harm. Nevertheless, the church building was not completely destroyed and preserved almost its original form (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia). The Catholic Newspaper (article in 2026) writes that during the Korean War the church was sometimes used as a military warehouse and stable, but apart from partial repairs such as replacing the floor, it faithfully preserves its original form from when it was first built.

[After the War] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, after the war ended, Fr. Yi Jong-heung, who took office as the 11th pastor in October 1952, restored the church and rectory to their original state, newly built a hall, and completed the statue of Our Lady of Massabielle, the Immaculate Conception, around October 1953. The 12th pastor, Fr. Choe Dong-o, rebuilt the Haksan mission chapel hall burned down in the 6·25 War in September 1955 and held a blessing ceremony, and established a credit union in December of the same year. The 13th pastor, Fr. Deery, established the Songgye-ri mission chapel in 1958 and the Garipa mission chapel in December 1960, and built the hall of the Songgye-ri mission chapel in 1962. In March 1965, as the Diocese of Wonju was separated and newly established from the Diocese of Chuncheon, Yongsomak Parish was transferred from the Diocese of Chuncheon to the Diocese of Wonju. Afterwards, the number of faithful declined sharply due to divisions of the jurisdictional area and the move of residents to cities.

[Since the 1980s] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 27th pastor, Fr. Eisel, established a kindergarten in 1981, and in May 1983 the Columban missionaries withdrew from the Diocese of Wonju, after which Korean priests served as pastors. The 28th pastor, Fr. Kim Tae-won, repaired the church interior in 1984 and replaced the roof with copper plates, purchased a thatched-roof house in 1985 and remodeled it into the Duru House retreat house, and in July 1986 built a convent to provide a branch of the Sisters of the Annunciation of Mary, and formed a sisterhood relationship with Gildong Parish in the Diocese of Seoul. In October 1987, he replaced the roof of the Nam Sang-gyo house site next to the Haksan mission chapel hall with tiles and created 14 Stations on the hill behind it and held a blessing ceremony. Nam Sang-gyo was the father of Saint Nam Jong-sam, who moved here from Kkotdang-i (now Hwadang-ri, Baegun-myeon, Jecheon-si) to devote himself to the life of faith after retiring from public office. In November 1988, he installed a museum commemorating the life and achievements of Fr. Seon Jong-wan, newly completed the Duru House and the basement prayer room and held blessing ceremonies, and in May 1989 he demolished the old Haksan mission chapel hall and rebuilt it and held a blessing ceremony.

[Since the 1990s] According to the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, the 29st pastor, Fr. Gwak Ho-in, closed the Garipa mission chapel in December 1990 because it was incorporated into the Jungang Expressway construction site, relocated and newly built the Hwangdun mission chapel hall in April 1991 and held a blessing ceremony, and repaired the Nam Sang-gyo house site in April 1994. In October of the same year, the Sillim mission chapel building was demolished for the opening of a fire road. The 31nd pastor, Fr. Namgung Min, repaired and expanded (3 stories) the Duru House and extensively repaired the facilities as a whole, including the church’s electrical installations, sound system, floor and window frames. The 33th pastor, Fr. Park Sang-yong, purchased in April 2000 with the help of the diocese the Meju House site (355.4 pyeong) that had belonged to another owner. The encyclopedia writes that in this Meju House the faithful make meju and soybean paste and sell them to the faithful of the sisterhood Gildong Parish and others, helping parish finances with the proceeds. The Diocese of Wonju writes that on May 5, 2004, marking the 100th anniversary of the parish’s establishment, it held a commemorative Mass and celebration presided over by the 2th Bishop of Wonju, Bishop Kim Ji-seok, and Good News writes that ahead of the 100th anniversary of the church’s construction, it carried out cultural property restoration work with government support and the devotion of the faithful and offered a thanksgiving Mass for the completion of the church restoration in October 2014.

[Parish Membership and Successive Pastors] The parish membership recorded in the Korean Catholic Encyclopedia is 864 in 1904, 1,238 in 1910, 2,229 in 1919, 1,477 in 1924, 1,050 in 1964, 878 in 1974, 736 in 1984, 623 in 1994, and 798 in 2000. At that time the jurisdiction was the entire Sillim-myeon area of Wonju-si and Haksan-ri, Bongyang-eup, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, and the mission chapels under its jurisdiction were the 2 places of Hwangdun and Haksan. The successive priests are the first Fr. V. Poyaud Vedastus (1904.5–1910.6), the 2nd Fr. J. Guillot Joseph (1910.10–1914.4), the 3rd Fr. P. Chizallet Peter (1914.4–1927.5), the 4th Fr. F. Lucas Francis (1927.5–1928.5), the 5th Fr. Yi Cheol-yeon Francis (1928.5–1936.5), the 6th Fr. Baek Nam-hui Peter (1936.5–1940.4), the 7th Fr. F. Gallagher Francis (1940.4–1945), the 8th Fr. F. McGowan Patrick (1945–1947.11), the 9st Fr. Jo Eung-hwan Thaddeus (1947.11–1949.9), the 10th Fr. Ju Jae-yong Paul (1951), the 11th Fr. Yi Jong-heung Chrysanthus (1952.10–1954.1), interim Fr. Yang Dae-seok Aloysius (1954.1–6), the 12st Fr. Choe Dong-o Athanasius (1954.6–1958.1), the 13th Fr. P. Deery Patrick (1957.12–1963.6), the 14th Fr. P. O’Conor Badrisio (1963.6–9), the 15th Fr. R. Delaney Richard (1963.9–1964.11), the 16rd Fr. Deery (1964.11–1966.1), the 17th Fr. P. Kelly Peter (1966.1–10), the 18th Fr. Deery (1966.10–1969.3), the 19nd Fr. Delaney (1969.3–5), the 20th Fr. Sim Geun-seop Benedict (1969.5–1970.4), the 21th Fr. Yi Heung-geun Mark (1970.4–7), the 22st Fr. M. Smyth Malachy (1970.7–1971.8), the 23th Fr. L. Clarke Leo (1971.8–1973.5), the 24th Fr. M. O’Loughlin Michael (1973.5–1974.4), the 25th Fr. R. Scanlon Raymond (1974.4–1976.4), the 26rd Fr. B. Murray Brendan (1976.4–1980.12), the 27th Fr. H.P. Eisel Patrick (1980.12–1983.5), the 28th Fr. Kim Tae-won John (1983.5–1990.2), the 29nd Fr. Gwak Ho-in Peter (1990.2–1995.2), the 30th Fr. Kim Tae-jin Benedict (1995.2–1997.2), the 31th Fr. Namgung Min Luke (1997.2–1999.2), the 32st Fr. Sin Hyeon-bong Anthony (1999.2–2000.1), and the 33th Fr. Park Sang-yong Augustine (2000.1–).

Architecture and Space

According to the Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture, this church is a Gothic-style building with a tall steeple in the center of the front, and its plan is a three-aisle basilica. The interior space is divided into nave and side aisles by wooden colonnades, and it has the usual structure of Western church architecture with a sanctuary at the front. The Diocese of Wonju describes this church as a typical form of a small brick church adapted from the Gothic style.

The Catholic Newspaper (article in 2026) writes that the church on a gentle hill surrounded by zelkova trees designated as protected trees has exterior walls harmonizing red and gray bricks, a tall bell tower and a roof covered with copper plates, and that although it is in the traditional Gothic style, its scale is small. The same article explains that by year of construction it is the 8th church built on the entire Korean Peninsula after Yakhyeon Church in Jungnim-dong in 1892 and the cathedral Myeongdong Cathedral in 1898, and that at Station 7 of the Way of the Cross the old phrase “Jesus, exhausted of strength, falls a second time” remains.

According to the Catholic Newspaper (article in 2026), the rectory is located 5–6m higher than the church, and there are two theories handed down together: that it was built there by taking advantage of the topography and geology of the church site, and that the priest deliberately chose the high place to look down on the village where the faithful live and to commune with them.

Wonju City selected it as No. 7 among the Wonju 8 Views (Catholic Newspaper), and the church building was designated as Gangwon-do Tangible Cultural Property No. 106 on May 23, 1986 (Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture, Diocese of Wonju, Good News).

Related Places and People

• Fr. Seon Jong-wan Laurentius (1915–1976): a priest from Yongsomak who founded the Sisters of the Annunciation of Mary and left great achievements in Bible translation (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Good News). The grass lawn in front of the church is the site of his birth home, and the museum opened in November 1988 displays his handwritten notes from his studies in Jerusalem and the 6-sided desk he personally devised (Catholic Newspaper, 2026).
• Choe Do-cheol (Barnabas): the first chapel head who founded the Yongsomak mission chapel (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Diocese of Wonju).
• Nam Sang-gyo House Site: the place where Nam Sang-gyo, father of Saint Nam Jong-sam, lived, located next to the Haksan mission chapel hall (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Haksan and Myojae mission chapels (Haksan-ri, Bongyang-eup, Jecheon-si, Chungcheongbuk-do): mission chapels under the jurisdiction of Yongsomak Parish (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia).
• Jecheon Parish: the parish separated when the Jecheon mission chapel under Yongsomak Parish was elevated to a parish in 1940 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Diocese of Wonju).
• Duru House: a retreat house remodeled after purchasing a thatched-roof house in 1985 (Korean Catholic Encyclopedia, Good News).

References and Sources

1. Institute for Korean Church History, Korean Catholic Encyclopedia “Yongsomak Parish”. Elevation to parish in May 1904, parish membership and successive priests, mission-chapel era, church construction in 1915, damage in the 6·25 War, separations and jurisdiction changes, facility improvements in the 1980s–2000s.
   https://encyclopedia.catholic.or.kr/entry/4739
2. Academy of Korean Studies, Encyclopedia of Korean National Culture “Wonju Yongsomak Church”. Parish establishment in 1904, church completion in 1915, design by Fr. Chizallet, architectural form, designation as Gangwon-do Tangible Cultural Property in 1986.
   https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0040845
3. Diocese of Wonju, Holy Sites and Historic Places “Yongsomak”. Mission-chapel foundation, parish establishment on May 4, 1904, church completion in 1915, sufferings during the Japanese occupation and the 6·25 War, transfer to the diocese in 1965, Fr. Seon Jong-wan museum, 100th anniversary in 2004.
   http://www.wjcatholic.or.kr/shrine/view?ca=%EC%9A%A9%EC%86%8C%EB%A7%89
4. Good News Catholic Information, Yongsomak Church of the Diocese of Wonju. Formation of the Catholic village, church completion in 1915, cultural property designation in 1986, statue and museum of Fr. Seon Jong-wan, thanksgiving Mass for church restoration in 2014.
   https://maria.catholic.or.kr/sa_ho/list/view.asp?ctxtOrgNum=2276&menugubun=holyplace
5. Catholic Newspaper, “[Pilgrimage, Walking and Praying] Yongsomak Church of the Diocese of Wonju” (2026). Status at the time of parish establishment, church construction process and features, rectory, Fr. Seon Jong-wan museum.
   https://www.catholictimes.org/article/20260327500267