Uijeongbu 2dong Cathedral

A Catholic community had formed in the late Korean Empire period around Ugo-ri (Gwangjeok-myeon, Yangju County) and Sinam-ri (Nam-myeon, Yeoncheon County). In 1927 the Sinam-ri mission station of Gaeseong Parish was raised to parish status, and in 1934 the Deokjeong-ri parish church was built (near Deokjeong-ri station, Hoecheon-myeon, Yangju County); in 1945 the parish seat was moved to Uijeongbu-ri. After the church building then in use was destroyed during the Korean War, the present building was erected in 1953 by Father Yi Gye-gwang (John). Uijeongbu 2dong Cathedral was built with the cooperation of Father Rozeski, chaplain of the US I Corps then stationed at Uijeongbu, and with donations from Catholic soldiers of the US I Corps. The cathedral is built of stone. Before liberation and through the 1960s, red-brick churches were the norm, but in the 1950s many stone churches and chapels were built across Gyeonggi Province, since granite was then more readily available than factory-made brick. Like Uijeongbu 2dong Cathedral, churches built in the 1950s tend to be modest in scale and, being modelled on existing churches rather than designed by architects, show only a weak distinction in their layout between the pews and the aisle. The exterior is arranged symmetrically around a central bell tower, with Gothic decorative elements typically confined to the main entrance and to window frames with pointed arches.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료