갔던 장소

 About church’s appearance, its local setting and its built environment

Chuhyang Methodist Church (CHMC) is located in Bongchun-8-dong area, Kwanak-Ku, Seoul city, Korea.  The church is located in a basement space having about 100 square meters.  The building where CHMC is located is a three-storied building as the above picture: There are a beauty parlor and a laundry in the left side on the first floor.  The second and the third floors are houses where four families are living.

The church consists of three parts in the basement space; 6 X 10 meters for a place of worship,   5 x 4.5 meters for a meeting and a dining hall, and 2 x 2 meters for a pastor’s space. The church’s space is not so small considering the number of church congregation. The church can hold 60 people and the maximum people will be about 70 persons we have invited for worship.

Inside the church, there are a famous picture called the Last Supper made in embroidery and a famous calligraphy sentence written by a master calligrapher in Korea. In the calligrapher art, you can see [Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be.] <Job 8:7> written in the Korean language.

In the place of worship, you can see 10 church chairs where four or five people can sit down on a wooden church chair in two rows.  There is a small sized platform on which you can see a cross on the wall which is surrounded by two violet colored curtains. Also, in the meeting and a dining hall, there are two long rectangular desks where we have a meeting and a lunch.  Also, there is a pastor’s space where I prepare for worship and ministerial work. A desk and a cabinet are all the things I have along with many bookcases surrounding the church’s inner wall. As church is a basement, we use two ventilation fans for fresh air and an air conditioner. For a winter, we have three heaters.

About local environment

People can see the church very easily because there are three billboards on the wall of the building and a cross on the top of the building. The building is located seven minutes away by foot from the Bongchun Station of Seoul’s second subway which is very convenient to come from other areas of Seoul.  And it is 100 meters away from the local street. Around the church there are many two-storied houses. 

One of the famous educational institutes near the church is Youngrak High School which is operated by Youngrak Presbyterian Church, one of the most famous Presbyterian churches in Seoul. Our piano accompanist is a student of Yongrak High School.  In the school, my wife has worked as an athletics teacher for 20 years.  Another educational institute is an elementary school called Kwanak elementary school.  A few children have participated in our church programs. 

There is a slum area next to the church. In this slum area, there are many workers who came from China. Generally speaking, they don’t have a religion and don’t want to attend church even though we tried to invite them several times. This area is scheduled to build an apartment complex in several years. Also there is an apartment complex which is being built now near the church. Also there is another area where middle class people having their own house live nearby.  Generally speaking, the price of a house in Seoul is very expensive.  Also, there is a small traditional market area where you can buy everything as far as food is concerned in the area of within 5 five minutes. They don’t attend church to sell vegetables and food material even on Sunday.

Also within 5 km, there are two universities: Seoul National University and Sungsil University.  Seoul National University is the best one in Korea, so only a few selected students can pass the entrance examination.   Also, in this area we have many single residents. They live alone in one room as a bachelor or a single woman. There are many apartment complexes around the area where many people live.