Korea's Myeongdong Cathedral: The Silhouette of a Religion

Right in the middle of the most popular tourist district in Seoul, South Korea, is the center of the Korea Roman Catholic faith: Myeongdong Cathedral. Saint John Paul II and Pope Francis had celebrated Holy Masses here when they visited the country. Although the Cathedral is busiest during Sundays, international tourists also crowd this place during weekdays as it is a tourist attraction as it is a place of worship. Completed in 1898 in Gothic Revival architecture, this place of worship has seen persecution and celebration of the Catholic faith in Korea for more than a century.

While the Myeongdong Cathedral presents a different kind of beauty during daytime, at night, it shares with every visitor a different kind of serene presence. As it sits on a hill, a visitor attending an evening mass must first climb the steps going up as if to ascend closer to the heavens. And while looking up, one is captivated by the Cathedral’s appearance with its steeple pointing to the skies as if showing the faithful the only way to the Father.  

Everyone taking the steps going up is slowly treated to the beauty of the cathedral whose architecture is illuminated by rays of light coming from its base and to the image of the Cathedral standing in the dark like a beacon of faith, unwavering and strong amidst the years of Catholic persecution in the past and the challenges in the Korean Peninsula in the present. Both Catholics and tourists who walk up to the hill always find themselves taking photographs of the Cathedral at night as it looks more imposing after dark than it is during the day.

And as one slowly walks into the Cathedral after opening its creaking wooden doors on the side, one immediately finds the place airy and peaceful, especially after the evening mass when, one by one, parishioners quietly leave. Joining the other few souls who stay behind, you’d only hear occasional footsteps that echo within the walls and in silence, what you’d hear are your supplications for yourself and others as well as your profession of faith and devotion.

I always wish that most churches still open their doors at night even after the last mass as the solitude and silence offered by a church, bereft of the noise of the city and the today’s distractions of daily living, provide one with an atmosphere of intimate communication with God and with one’s self. For in these times of violence, greed and misguided philosophy, divine succor, and guidance from above are what we need the most.

As I left Myeongdong Cathedral, I traced my steps down the hill on my way back to my earthly existence, I turned back for one last look and gazed up to this house of prayer and sanctuary of faith now etched in the dark by shadows and light, transforming it, not just into another admirable piece of grand architecture, but as a silhouette of a religion, knowing that until my next visit, I will again find peace, strength, and divine guidance within its walls.