Seoul Yakhyeon Catholic Church

Yakhyeon Catholic Church is a small-scale church building. This building was established as a sub-parish (gongso) under Myeongdong Cathedral after the number of Catholics increased following the allowance of religious freedom in 1886. In 1891, Father Doucet, who was the chief priest of Myeongdong Cathedral at the time, secured land in Hapdong, and Father Coste, the auxiliary bishop, took charge of the design and construction supervision, leading to the completion of Yakhyeon Catholic Church the following year in 1892. The site where this church is located was formerly an area where medicinal herbs were cultivated, and it is said to have been called Yakjeonhyeon (藥田峴), meaning 'the hill with a medicinal herb field.' Later, it was shortened to 'Yakhyeon,' and as this name was used for the area near the hill from Seoul's Malli-dong to Seoul Station, the church came to be called Yakhyeon Catholic Church. This church is notable as the first Western-style church building constructed in Korea. Additionally, while it partially exhibits Gothic elements, it is a brick building with an overall Romanesque style, featuring heavy semicircular arch roofs and narrow window areas. As a relatively small church, the side windows have round arches rather than pointed arches due to the low eaves, but the front entrance and the protruding entrance windows on the left and right sides each form pointed arches, giving it a Gothic appearance.