Anseong Cathedral

Anseong Cathedral was built in 1901 by the French priest Antonio Combert (1875–1950; Korean name Gong An-guk). In 1922 it was rebuilt as a Korean-style (hanok) church using building components taken from a lecture hall in Sinan-ri, Bogae-myeon. In 1955 a semicircular arched entrance and a bell tower were added to the front, so that the building now has the facade of a typical Western-style church while its sides retain traditional Korean forms — a hybrid of Korean and Western church architecture. It realises, in the timber-frame structure of a hanok, the typical basilica-plan arrangement of a central nave flanked by aisles on either side. The difference in height between the nave and the aisles is used to bring in light, keeping the interior bright; this method of lighting is highly regarded for having achieved, through a traditional timber structure, the spatial effect of Gothic cathedral architecture. The altar and its decorative fittings were made in 1925 by Won Je-dong, who trained in the woodworking department of Deokwon Monastery. Anseong Cathedral retains altar arrangements of both the pre- and post-Second Vatican Council forms, and combines the features of a hanok with those of a Western-style church, so that its architectural style and spatial structure vividly show the history of Catholicism in Korea from its introduction down to the present day.

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Where it is

Region

Anseong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물