The old church building constructed in 1949 was demolished, and a new building was built in 2014. The new Gahoe-dong Catholic Church is remarkably ch ... More
The old church building constructed in 1949 was demolished, and a new building was built in 2014. The new Gahoe-dong Catholic Church is remarkably characterized by the juxtaposition of traditional hanok and modern architecture. The two different styles were not made into a melange, but juxtaposed so that people can feel the different charms at the same time.
The building expresses a Korean gentleman wearing hanbok putting his arms around a blue-eyed foreign priest. The low-built hanok, giving Korean traditional vibes to the area that was losing such atmosphere, and the western-style church behind it catch the eyes of passers-by. While the construction project was planned on a large lot of 3,300 square meters, the project divided up construction into three buildings matching the atmosphere of the neighborhood. Natural materials were mainly used and stained glass was used minimally to enhance the charm of hanok architecture.
The hanok building was built using Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora) by a master carpenter of intangible cultural heritage to create high-quality results. As it is a religious building, you can find various religious elements inside. The miracle of five loaves of bread and two fish is engraved on the tiles of the roof. Such small details make us imagine the time when the priest who majored in architecture and the architect in charge of design shared their opinions to settle on the design of the buildings.