Seoul Korea Temple Wiki

Description

History

Kim Ho Jik, a high-ranking government and educational figure, was the first native Korean to join the Church on July 29, 1951, while attending Cornell University in New York. A son and daughter were among the first four Koreans baptized in their native land.

The first member of the church in South Korea was baptized in 1951. At that time Korea was in the midst of a war against Communist armies, with the UN intervening. Latter-day Saint servicemen from the United States were the first to bring the LDS Church’s teachings to the area.

On August 2, 1955, President Joseph Fielding Smith dedicated the land of Korea for the preaching of the restored gospel on a hill overlooking war-torn Seoul. Kim Ho Jik was among the few participants.

The Korean saints first began expressing their urgings for a temple in Korea beginning in the early 1960s. During that time, Park Jae Am asked Elder Gordon B. Hinckley if there would ever be a temple in Korea. Elder Hinckley reportedly smiled and promised in a very encouraging tone that if the saints stayed close to the Lord and were obedient to the Church that there would one day be a temple in the Land of the Morning Calm.

President Spencer J. Palmer, who became mission president over Korea in August 1965, directed purchase of the Shinch’on property, where the Seoul Korea Temple now stands, in that same year.

The first Korean temple group (six couples) flew to Hawaii on July 31, 1970, after overcoming enormous obstacles including an immigration department policy that did not allow couples to leave the country together except in extremely unusual circumstances—an obstacle that worked against Korean members time and time again.

The first Institute building outside of North America was built on the site of the Seoul Korea Temple several years before the temple was constructed.

The first stake in Korea was created in Seoul on March 8, 1973. President Spencer W. Kimball selected Rhee Honam as stake president.

Announcement

Plans for the Seoul Korea Temple were announced just before General Conference in 1981. Contributing to the Church’s decision to build a temple there was the Korean’s exceptional devotion to honoring their ancestors and keeping their records. One beloved Korean member named Kim San shared his own ancestral records that dated back to A.D. 927.

The Seoul Korea Temple was originally planned to be a very simple structure with just two endowment rooms and a sealing room. However, it was enlarged and redesigned three times primarily because the Korean Saints had given up so much of their savings toward building their temple.

A mission office and meetinghouse were razed to make way for the Seoul Korea Temple.

Groundbreaking

Open House

An open house was held from November 16 to 26, 1985. More than 13,000 toured the Seoul Korea Temple during its public open house.

Dedication

Although a healthy President Ezra Taft Benson was installed as president of the Church just a month before the dedication of the Seoul Korea Temple, he chose to follow through with plans to send President Gordon B. Hinckley to dedicate the edifice.

The Seoul Korea Temple was dedicated in six sessions from December 14 to 15, 1985, by President Gordon B. Hinckley, who was the first counselor in the Church’s First Presidency at the time. In the dedicatory prayer, President Hinckley began by saying, “Our hearts are filled with gratitude for this long awaited day. This is the first such house of the Lord ever constructed on the mainland of Asia, this vast continent where dwell more than a billion of Thy sons and daughters.”^[1]Seoul Korea Temple dedicatory prayer, in Church News, Dec. 22, 1985, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/61696/Seoul-Korea-Temple-Our-hearts-are-filled-with-gratitude-for-this-long-awaited-day.html.

President Hinckley continued by relating the history of the Church in Korea: “The seeds of Thy work were planted in Korea only a third of a century ago, when, amidst the thunders of war, a few of Thy faithful sons in military service exemplified the teachings of the gospel in their lives and shared them with a few of those they met.”^[2]Seoul Korea Temple dedicatory prayer, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/61696/Seoul-Korea-Temple-Our-hearts-are-filled-with-gratitude-for-this-long-awaited-day.html.

President Hinckley then recounted part of the story of Kim Ho Jik, a Korean scholar who was sent to the United States to learn how to improve nutrition in Korea. While studying, Ho Jik became friends with a member of the Church named Oliver Wayman, who gave him a book called The Articles of Faith by James E. Talmage. Ho Jik then obtained a copy of the Book of Mormon to read. On July 29, 1951, Ho Jik was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and upon his return to Korea he began sharing what he had learned about the Church with others.

Ho Jik’s ability and willingness to share the gospel in Korea helped the Church grow in that area. His actions are significant because missionaries were not allowed in Korea until the end of the Korean War. Even without missionaries, the Church began to spread quickly. Finally, on August 2, 1955, Korea was opened for missionaries, and in 1956, two missionaries entered the nation despite the country’s political turmoil.

President Hinckley referred to this Church growth in his dedicatory prayer: “From those times of small beginnings and serious privation Thy work has moved forward, its numbers have increased many fold, and it has prospered under Thy benevolent hand.”^[3]Seoul Korea& Temple dedicatory prayer, http://www.ldschurchnewsarchive.com/articles/61696/Seoul-Korea-Temple-Our-hearts-are-filled-with-gratitude-for-this-long-awaited-day.html. He ended his prayer by dedicating the temple and giving thanks to the Lord.

After the temple was dedicated, a subway system was built in conjunction with the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. The system included a line that ended right at the base of the hill upon which the temple was built, making the temple even more accessible for church members. The temple is located near what is today Sinchon Station on the Seoul Subway Line 2. This station is located near four major South Korean universities: Yonsei University, Hongik University, Ewha Womans University, and Sogang University.

The importance of families and one’s ancestors have been a long tradition in Korea. Some families have kept records for hundreds, even thousands, of years. With the dedication of the Seoul Korea Temple, the submission of names for temple work to be done was phenomenal. One such family had submitted names from fifty generations.

Dedication Order

The Seoul Korea Temple was the first temple built in mainland Asia (and in South Korea). The Temple is the 37th operating temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Presidents and Matrons

Details

Location

The grounds of the temple are just as beautiful as its architecture. Unlike the crowded, cluttered streets of Seoul filled with large signs and loud noises, the Seoul Korea Temple grounds are peaceful and quiet with green gardens and elegant trees. Waves and circles are motifs throughout the grounds, reflected in the rolling hedges and curvy walkways etched with swirling patterns. A stone fountain at the temple’s entrance designed with circles and ripples also mirrors this pattern.

The temple rests on top of a hill, at the bottom of which are dormitories for traveling missionaries and Church members who need a place to stay while attending the temple. Behind the temple is a family history center, a place where visitors can research distant relatives and family members.

The Seoul Korea Temple stands on a hill overlooking the prestigious Ewha Womans University, Yonsei University, and Sogang University to the south, east, and west. To the north is the expressway to the Gimpo International Airport, Korea’s second-largest airport. Traveling patrons may stay in the dorm space of an auxiliary building. Surrounding the temple are peaceful, handsome gardens that are open for the public to admire.

Exterior

The temple’s walls feature Korean granite with six white spires. A traditional, tiled “hundred-year roof” gives the temple a uniquely Korean appearance. Standing on the top of its front spire rests a distinguishing feature on Mormon temples — a statue of the angel Moroni, a prophet from the Book of Mormon. In one hand, the statue holds a trumpet, which represents the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the spreading of the gospel upon the earth.

The Seoul Korea Temple’s architectural design is similar to other temples that were constructed during the 1980s, such as the Lima Peru Temple and the Boise Idaho Temple.

Interior

Inside, the temple is decorated with delicate brush paintings, intricate wooden molding, silk wall coverings, gold leaf, dome chandeliers, and white lacquer furniture inlaid with mother of pearl. The Seoul Korea Temple has a total of 28,057 square feet (2,606.6 m²), four ordinance rooms, and three sealing rooms.