May 1986 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the consecration of the Anglican pro-cathedral of St. Mary and St. Nicholas, the central church of the Anglican community in Korea. This great church is situated on the edge of Seoul's old foreign quarter, Chŏ ng-dong, and is an imposing brick and granite building. Once it stood out clear from its surroundings, but today it is in among the highrise hotels and the tall office blocks which are so characteristic of modern Seoul.

It is not a well-known landmark. Many of Seoul's citizens whether Christians or not are familiar with the Roman Catholic cathedral in Myŏng-dong, and also with the newer churches south of the Han River, but very few are even aware of the Anglican cathedral's existence and even fewer know how to find it. Crowds of people visit sights such as the National Museum or To˘ksu Palace every day, but in 1983, an official of the Anglican cathedral noted that only about fifteen visitors came to the cathedral each day. Yet on Sundays and festivals, several hundred Koreans come to worship. There is also a small but devoted group of foreign Anglicans (or Episcopalians as they are generally known in the United States) who attend the Sunday mass in the cathedral crypt.

The general lack of knowledge about the cathedral is reflected in guide-books and other tourist aids. Indeed, few guide-books mention the cathedral at all, and those that do are frequently not very informative or sometimes wrong. Even Seoul city authorities, who have designated the cathedral as “Local Tangible Property No. 35,” have erected an incorrect notice outside the building.

This neglect is a pity. The cathedral has long been regarded as one of the most attractive western-style buildings in East Asia. The story of how it came to be built, and its survival during the troubled times of the past sixty years is an interesting one both in itself and as part of the wider history of the Anglican church in Korea. Together with the nineteenth-century buildings of the nearby British Embassy compound and To˘ksu Palace, the cathedral forms part of an older Seoul that has almost vanished.