In South Korea, which was once a Buddhist country, thousands of monks, belonging to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism (the largest Buddhist sect in South Korea) protested against President Moon Jae-in and called his government’s anti-Buddhist bias and discriminatory state policies.
The monks took to the streets in Seoul today Friday (January 21), protesting against President Moon Jae-in and alleging that the policies of the current Korean regime discriminate Buddhists and also about a state-sponsored campaign to promote Christian carols.
In December 2021, the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism hosted a nation-wide carol promotion campaign and the Jogye Order criticised the event and called it an explicit promotion of a specific religion by the government using taxpayer funds.
As many as 5000, staged protests at Jogyesa, the chief temple of the Jogye Order, and called for the enactment of laws to prevent further religious bias against Buddhism and measures to preserve its national heritage.
“The government is to preserve cultural heritages, but it now dares to instigate religious conflicts and shift the responsibility,” Ven. Wonhaeng, the head of the Jogye Order, said during the rally held at Jogye Temple.
However, what promoted these protests was a very anti-Buddhist remark by the ruling party lawmaker, Jung Chung-rai of the ruling Democratic Party who compared Buddhist temples as “cultural asset viewing fees” to a legendary swindler known for selling river water for money.
Jung initially refused to apologise but when he did offer an apology, the Jogye Order refused it.
Buddhism has been under attack after the end of the Second World War in South Korea when American Evangelists came and converted the majority of the population to Christianity to various denominations.
Recently, the Jogye Order criticized a plan by the local government to designate “Cheonjinam Pilgrimage Route” as a Catholic site, despite its historic significance to both Buddhists and Catholics.
“Buddhism survived the Joseon Kingdom for about 500 years and it is necessary to tell everyone that the religion should not be treated unfairly,” Ven. Wonhaeng, the president of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the head of a special committee for the rally, said during the order’s meeting on Jan. 6.
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