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Suffragan diocese Hamhƒng, North Korea

Diocese of Hamhƒng

Hameungen(sis)

The Diocese of Hamhung in North Korea, suffragan of the ecclesiastical province of Seoul, originated as the Apostolic Vicariate of Wonsan (1920), entrusted to the Benedictines of Tokwon Abbey, and was elevated to a full diocese in 1962. The see has been effectively impeded since the communist persecution of 1949, in which scores of its priests and religious were martyred, and remains sede vacante. Abbot Simon Kim Ju-young, O.S.B., of Waegwan Abbey has served as apostolic administrator since 2020; the Catholic population is unknown.

On the map

Esri
Hamhƒng, North Korea, drawn to the town rather than to the door: the register holds no verified address for its cathedral.

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Established
1920
Territory
49,375 km²

Parishes and churches

0 listed churches in our records. Open a parish for Mass times, confession, directions and sources where recorded.

Parish listings are not yet available for this diocese.

This is our recorded coverage, not an official diocesan parish count. Confirm service times with the parish before travelling.

The bishop

No bishop is recorded for this diocese. See the bishop.

History

North Korea's Diocese of Hamhung belongs to the Latin Church of the Catholic Church. It began in 1920 as the Apostolic Vicariate of Wonsan and changed its name twice thereafter: to Kankoensis o Hameungensis in 1940, and then to the Apostolic Vicariate of Hamhung in 1950. In 1962, like the Diocese of Pyongyang, the vicariate was raised to a full diocese. It is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Seoul.