Red Bricks in a Sea of Neon

Writer: Bryan Kim

Name of building: Myeongdong Cathedral

Architect/Designer: Eugène Jean Georges Coste

Date/year: 1898

Materials: Bricks

Location: 74 Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea

If you visit Myeongdong, you know what it is like. All the energetic shops blasting music, numerous street food vendors, and so many tourists visiting the area. Then, there is Myeongdong Cathedral. It is placed on top of a hill, and it looks like a church that has been picked up from Europe and dropped in the heart of Seoul. The contrast between the lively vibes of the streets of Myeongdong and the peacefulness of the church is the reason I chose Myeongdong Church.

The church was built on the spot where the first Catholics gathered in Korea in 1784. At the time, Korean Catholics were under severe persecution for about a century and were not able to freely express their religious devotions. Thus, the decision made by Eugene Coste, a French priest, to design a cathedral to be constructed, felt like a rebellious statement of fighting against religious persecution. The Sino-Japanese War and the death of Coste caused the opening of the church to be delayed until May 29, 1898. 

The building itself has a peculiar design. While most Gothic cathedrals at the time were made of stone, the Myeongdong Cathedral was constructed with twenty types of red and grey bricks, which were sourced from Korea. Therefore, the church is not an identical copy of the designs used in Europe, but symbolizes the mix of two cultures, the European style that Coste brought with him, and the local culture of Korea.

My view of the building completely transformed after learning about the incident in 1987. From June 10 in that year, hundreds of student protesters and ordinary citizens took refuge and held a sit-in at the cathedral to demand democracy and expose the government’s cover-up of the torture and murder of Park Jong-chul, a student who attended Seoul National University. When the police arrived to arrest the students, the priests and the nuns encountered the police face-to-face in order to protect the students. On June 29, a plan for direct presidential elections was announced. After learning about the event, I now feel more reverence for the building, as it is historically significant and played a major role in establishing proper democracy within Korea. 

Today, the cathedral is still active. Masses are held daily and the church remains as a place that reminds us of Korea’s dark history of persecution, faith, and a desperate fight for democracy. The cathedral was designated Historical site No. 258 on November 22, 1977.

References

• https://www.asiae.co.kr/en/article/2020061114555304779

  Asia Business Daily

• https://www.frommers.com/destinations/seoul/attractions/myeongdong-cathedral/

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• https://api.pipeorgandatabase.org/uploads/documents/QnRkJg_11Seoul.MyeongdongRC.1985WernerBosc.HistoryOfCathedral01.pdf

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• https://www.nomadotravel.app/en/attractions/myeongdong-cathedral

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• https://archives.kdemo.or.kr/display/en/move610.html

  Korea Democratic Movements