Changchung Cathedral () is the nominal

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the

Diocese of Pyongyang The Diocese of Pyongyang is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in North Korea. Its only official bishop, Francis Hong Yong-ho, was imprisoned by the government of the North Korea led by Kim Il-sung in 1949 and later disappeared. ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, located in the Changchung neighborhood of

Songyo-guyok Sŏn'gyo-guyŏk or Songyo District is one of the 18 guyŏk that constitute the city of Pyongyang, North Korea. It is on the eastern bank of the Taedong River at the center of East Pyongyang. It is bordered to the south by Nakrang-guyok, to the ...

, Pyongyang. It is one of only four official

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

places of worship in Pyongyang. It operates under the

Korean Catholic Association Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

History

Before the

division of Korea The division of Korea began at the end of World War II on 2 September 1945, with the establishment of a Soviet occupation zone and a US occupation zone. These zones developed into separate governments, named the Democratic People's Republic of ...

, Pyongyang was the city with the highest number of Christian believers in Korea, and was known as the "Korean Jerusalem". By 1945, nearly of its citizens were Christians. Therefore, Pyongyang was made into the only diocese in northern Korea. After the division of Korea, however, the Communist government under

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

persecuted Christians as imperialist collaborators and spies. Much of the Catholic community was either killed or imprisoned, and many more fled south. The original cathedral, built of red brick in the late 19th century, was destroyed in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

by American forces. Earlier, in 1949, the last formal Bishop of Pyongyang,

Francis Hong Yong-ho Francis Hong Yong-ho (; born 12 October 1906; disappereared in 1949; declared dead in June 2013) was a Catholic Church, Catholic prelate in North Korea who was prisoner of conscience, imprisoned by the communist regime of Kim Il Sung in 1949 an ...

, had been imprisoned by the communist government; he later disappeared. His death was acknowledged by the Holy See in 2013, although the exact date of death is unknown. In 1988 a new cathedral was opened in East Pyongyang. At the same time, two nondenominational

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

churches were opened in an effort by the government to show religious freedom.

Operation

The cathedral is operated by the

and is not affiliated with the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. Because of the strained relations with the Holy See, the cathedral currently has no bishop or even an ordained priest. There is no resident priest either. Masses are occasionally offered by foreign clergy when they visit Pyongyang. In 2015, an agreement was reached between the Korean Catholic Association and the

Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international instituti ...

, allowing South Korean priests and bishops to celebrate Mass and administer the sacraments in the Cathedral on major feast days. There is a noodle factory associated with the church that receives financial support from the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Seoul (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Seulensis'', ) is a Metropolitan archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church comprising the metropolitan area of Seoul, South Korea, whose province comprises pa ...

and Catholic

Koreans in the United States Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...

. File:Jangchung Catholic Church (15362604440).jpg, Interior, facing the entrance File:Jangchung Catholic Church (15545523971).jpg, Interior, facing the altar

References

External links

360 virtual tour of Changchung Cathedral

Video of the Changchung Church

Photo

Photo

Changchung Cathedral
at

Naenara Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. History Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. Usage Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...

{{Christianity in Korea Roman Catholic cathedrals in North Korea Buildings and structures in Pyongyang Roman Catholic churches completed in 1988 1988 establishments in North Korea 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings 20th-century architecture in North Korea Churches in North Korea

History

Operation

See also

References

Further reading

External links