Yakhyeon Catholic Church, Seoul

Built in 1892 to Father Coste's design and under his supervision, six years before Myeongdong and the earliest Western-style building in Korea. It is small — about 32 metres by 12, on a cross plan. The eaves are low, so the side windows are round-arched rather than pointed; the entrance and the projecting side doorways are pointed, which is where the Gothic comes in. It is not a pure Gothic church and was not trying to be. It was the model every Korean church built afterwards worked from. Where it stands is the point. It looks down on Seosomun, the execution ground outside the old west gate where more Korean Catholics were put to death than anywhere else in the country. Arson gutted the interior in 1998; the walls stood, and it was restored.

Original Text

Where it is

Region

Jung-gu, Seoul

Designation

Historic Site · 사적