Yaum Catholic Church

History & origins

The origins of Yaum Parish lie in the pastoral needs created by Ulsan’s industrialization and population growth in the 1970s and 1980s. As the petrochemical complex and other industrial facilities expanded, both residents and Catholics increased in southern Ulsan, and Wolpyeong Parish could no longer adequately serve the enlarged area by itself. Preparations therefore began, centered on Wolpyeong Parish, to establish a new parish in Yaum. The site of the present church was secured in 1982, and an organization to promote construction was formed the following year.

Construction of the church began in February 1984 and the building was completed that December. On December 26, Yaum Parish was established by separation from Wolpyeong Parish. Father Kim Nam-su, who had led the project from the preparatory stage, became its first pastor. The new parish received Catholics from several parts of southern Ulsan, including Yaum, Seonam, and Jangsaengpo, and quickly established the basic structure of parish life.

As the community grew, it also expanded its educational space. In response to the increasing number of Sunday school students, additional educational facilities were provided in 1987, and parish facilities continued to be improved. Meanwhile, continuing urban expansion in Ulsan brought further adjustments to parish boundaries, and in 1997 Samsan Parish was separated from Yaum as an independent parish. This process of growth and division shows how Yaum Parish received a growing Catholic population in an industrial city and, in turn, gave rise to new pastoral centers.

At its establishment, the new parish received more than three thousand Catholics together with responsibility for a broad area of southern Ulsan. Beginning with a community of considerable size helps explain why completion of the church, erection of the parish, and expansion of educational space followed one another within a relatively short period.