Church of the Heart

About this place

The Church of the Heart (마음의교회) is a Christian chapel designed by Tadao Ando within Maiim Vision Village, a Christian retreat complex in Neungseo-myeon, Yeoju-si, Gyeonggi-do, roughly ninety kilometres southeast of Seoul. The complex was developed by a Korean Christian foundation and built with the structural involvement of Hyundai Engineering & Construction, one of Korea's largest construction companies. Ando's design uses his established formal vocabulary — board-formed concrete, reflective water, controlled natural light — but sets it within a wooded mountain landscape rather than an urban context. The chapel volume appears to float above a long reflecting pool, with the surrounding forest visible through the glazed walls. The effect of the water surface mirroring the trees gives the building its characteristic sense of suspension between the natural and the constructed. The interior follows Ando's approach to sacred space: a simple rectangular volume, timber flooring, and a wall of glass at the altar end that frames a view of the forested hillside. Light enters laterally through apertures designed to change quality through the day, so that the experience of the space is different at morning worship than at an evening ceremony. There is no explicit religious iconography; the space is defined by material restraint and the presence of light and nature rather than by ornament. Maiim Vision Village is primarily a private Christian retreat facility, but the church is accessible to visitors. The complex became widely known internationally after it was used as a filming location for the Korean drama "What's Wrong with Secretary Kim" (2018), which introduced the building to a large audience unfamiliar with Ando's Korean work. The mountains, the water, and the concrete chapel together make the journey from Seoul worthwhile.