Asia Sentinel

Korean Buddhists, fired by allegations of religious bias from the Lee administration, take to the streets but the real reason lies much deeper.

South Korean Buddhists are up in arms, accusing President Lee Myung Bak and his administration of showing religious bias against Buddhists and favoring Christians.

South Korea by law is a secular state, as clearly enshrined in its constitution defending the freedom of religion. It bars designation of any faith as state religion. Yet, a phenomenal rise in the size and power of the Christian community in recent decades has the Buddhist community here gripped by apprehension. In the course of the last five decades of Korea’s industrialization and modernization, the role and size of Korea’s once-powerful Buddhist population has significantly declined.

Internally, not only is the Buddhist hierarchy torn by schisms and squabbles over control of the large financial assets involving temple properties like land and buildings, its failure to attract new converts through renewal has resulted in their growing marginalization.

Their preoccupation with material assets, which are sometimes protected through hiring of mafia-like thugs camouflaged in monks’ robes engaging in bloody gang wars, has alienated a growing number of socially and politically powerful younger generations who run Korea Inc.

Unfolding against that background of turmoil, some analysts regard the current uproar over the government’s perceived slights and affronts against the Buddhists as a sign that it could be seeking a rallying cry to unite the flock. That could be the beginning of new political activism to revitalize the sagging momentum of Korean Buddhism, some analysts say.

At a massive, traffic-disrupting rally of August 27 in Seoul at which over 200,000 lay Buddhists protested what they said was the government’s “religious discrimination”, they demanded the firing of the National Police Director by holding him responsible for a number of developments they claimed indicated his religious bias. One was his call to evangelize the entire police force, he being an ardent Presbyterian churchgoer. Another episode involved the riot policemen stopping and searching a temple abbot’s car, which they said was necessary to look for anti-US demonstrators hiding inside a Seoul temple compound.

In a fit of rage, one Buddhist monk has slashed his stomach with a razor blade. It was not a life-threatening wound, but the incident was enough to poison the atmosphere of the confrontation. The Buddhist clergy now vows to hold a new series of demonstrations across the country unless President Lee, himself a Presbyterian elder, issued a statement of apology.

But tension has been building up since December, when newly elected president Lee began filling his first cabinet with Christians. At least a half of his new ministers were people professing to be Christians, with the prime minister, Han Seung Soo, said to be a Roman Catholic. Not a single cabinet minister professed to be Buddhist.

And when Lee was Seoul mayor, he himself stirred a storm of debate by saying he would “consecrate” his public service “to God,” omitting the fact that he was there to serve the citizens. Other than making these statements which were considered religiously over-zealous, neither the President nor the police director has been specifically cited for taking discriminatory steps in their administration or leadership. Government officials say they may have been guilty of giving “wrong impressions” but harbored no actual religious bias.

There’s no denying that Christians have become a powerful force in the Korean society. First is the numbers: people professing to be Protestants or Roman Catholics total more than 14 million or over 30% of the population. The once-dominant Buddhists have shrunk to a little more 10 million, according to the last government survey taken in 2005.

It’s not so much this number as the Christians’ rise in Korean society that is unsettling the Buddhists. Korean Christians boast higher education levels than their Buddhist peers. A recent survey by a Buddhist scholar showed that 23.1 percent of Presbyterians had a college or higher level education level (9.8 percent for Catholics) while for Buddhists, this was 10.8 percent. The perception has risen that Christianity represents a superior religion, a western faith with progressive thinking while Buddhism is old and tradition-bound, at the level of folk belief, mainly sustaining itself vague promises of good luck and fortune, said Kim Yong Pyo, a professor at Dongkook Buddhist University in Seoul.

The younger generation is even more negative. “You don’t want to go to a temple where all you do is recite sutra and bow before a Buddha image, and all the time mingling with oldsters,” says a university student contemptuously, not wanting to be identified by name. To him, Buddhism is little more than a superstition, something far from modern theology answering today’s problems.

Kwon Ki Jong, another professor on the same campus, said all this is a familiar refrain. The Buddhist establishment must find a better way of proselytizing the young, by appealing to rational, intellectual thinking, not mysticism. He suggests holding seminars and conferences using modern religious language and idiom to address issues of the modern life and society. Otherwise, Buddhism will stop being relevant to the young, educated audiences of today’s Korea.

Upgrading the quality of discourse is essential to revitalize Buddhism and make it relevant to Korea’s young, Kwon said. He underlines this case with a number showing that educated Buddhists are deserting in increasing numbers.

While Buddhists fight the government and debate how to keep their faith fresh, the Christian denominations, even though vigorously expanding, face similar criticisms for a host of ills including the Korean churches’ venality and aggrandizement. Richly endowed and overzealous, they move aggressively into Muslim nations, developing trouble with the local authorities with evangelical works and ignoring local customs and religion. In 2007, the government reportedly paid tens of millions of dollars in ransom to get 23 of them released from hostage-taking Taliban in Afghanistan. One was beheaded in Bagdad. Still others have been deported from China for trying to infiltrate Christian converts into the communist North Korea from border areas.

Korea’s economic prosperity in recent decades has meant that huge amounts of church donations have flowed into overseas missionary works. The Korean Buddhists have not been an exception: they too send out priests and laymen to Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka where Buddhism remains strong. Thus venality and vainglory run deeply in both Christian and Buddhist activities.

Like Korea’s economic development, quantity has overwhelmed quality in the nation’s spiritual life. The current stirrings in the Buddhist community may be a part of bigger picture that reform campaign is afoot in the nation’s temples, just as Christian churches are now debating their own direction of growth.

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Christian are arrogant
written by Buddhist Wong , May 03, 2009

Christian are arrogant,they seek convert throughout their history.When some countries are in trouble,they go there,pretending to be virtous and helps the people there,THEY are actually converting people:"Oh,GOD sent me here to help you...."Another thing is they pretty much control the media because nowadays most artists are christian...and those young fools follow their idols and see Christianity is modern...What The @#$%

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South Korean Buddhist must do more.
written by Kelvin Wibowo , April 15, 2009

I think the main problem with South Korean Buddhism is that like Chinese society, the Buddhism is steep in cultural and folklore means which may borders on the irrationality. S'pore chinese is facing the same issue too. However, there are effective ways that Buddhism can reclaimed its place in Korean society-that is to be pro-active to spread the faith to the young aggressively but peacefully. I think that the rise of christianity in SKorea is a temporary,impermanent phenomeneon which will fade in years to come. Unlike the Philippines, Skorea have an ancient culture, philosophy and traditions influenced by Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism and this have permeates Korean society. The rise of Christianity stems from the practical rationalism propagate by Confucianism and made sucessful by Americanism evangelism.
Howver having said that, Korean Buddhists must be determined to spread the Buddhist faith, in whatever ways to korean people and educate them that Christianity is not as beautiful as it wants the Korean people to know.

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what is the real nature of buddhism?
written by adi , October 19, 2008

Sorry to hear that korean youth perceives buddhism as superstition. To me who lives in Europe it is christianity and all theses abrahamic cults that are nothing but superstitions. If you beleive in buddhist rituals, it is superstition, if you practice meditative methods? it is psychology. Does the president of Souht Korea really believes that the Earth was created 6000 years ago by God who walked in the Paradise? I see nothing modernistic about it...

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Yeah christians are dumb?
written by Nate Riley , September 13, 2008

buddhists are virtus' people well yes but the ones calling christians idiots are not they are saying atheist vietnamese communist took the right steps in overthrowing south vietnam and getting rid of all religion .I thought christians in america were dumb but guess this goes to show buddhists can be dumb too. Maybe cutting your stomach and shouting people think were crazy may not be the best way to get new converts! And attacking people over there faith when you want people to see you as approachable to learn about your faith and I would say your biggest fear should be atheists.

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Christian Talebans
written by Bushwhacker , September 09, 2008

Talibans mean religious students. Some Christian fundamentals hold extreme views akin to the Islamic Talebans. Both groups tend to be extremely intolerant to other type of beliefs, including those faithfuls that do not necessarily share same views of the world.

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Ehipassiko
written by Ehipassiko , September 03, 2008

Please come and see what actually Buddhist believes instead say Buddhism is a superstitious religion....
In my opinion, Protestanism is too arrogant and intolerance.

Korean Buddhist can also learn from their counterpart Taiwan's successful Tzu Chi organization how to develop an engaged Buddhism...

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Whom do I serve?
written by Stuart , September 03, 2008

I serve and follow the teachings of a God. I serve the and follow the teachings of the Buddha. I serve and follow the teachings of the almighty dollar
FYI I am a Buddhist

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Only fools believe in god
written by Shi fatong , September 03, 2008

Chirstian and Islamic beliefs are primitive and suspetitious, unfit for the modern world as seen today where oposing sides fight or kill themselves in the name of the same god due to intolerance. Asian cultures are based on virtue not on beliefs. asian youths are ignorant regarding westernisation as modernisation. Christians hope to destroy asian religions and culture so that asians will be subsevient to western governments. Try reading the book about god by Richard Dawkins, the bible is anything but holy.

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Reform the clergy
written by arunlikhati , September 03, 2008

If the Korean Buddhist clergy really feel that Buddhism is under threat in Korea (and I think it is), then they will have to assess and reform the way they practice their religion. Sometimes if you don't change, then the change will come to you...

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No, Dharma, No Buddhist
written by Dharmakara , September 02, 2008

It's refreshing to find an article that actually deals with the real motivations, as well as the dynamics of what passes itself off as Buddhism in Korea.

As a Buddhist monk, I have been horrified by the dysfunctional behavior by many of our Asian brothers, but this isn't a problem just in Korea --- look at Sri Lanka and other countries, the never-ending parody of a Buddhist nation which comes across like a poor cousin of the Peyton Place soap opera. Just like Korea, if they're not fighting among themselves they're fighting others.

One could speak the wisdom of the Dhammapada, that just like hatred does not cease through hatred, the same can be said of aggression, that aggression does not cease through aggression, but this is lost too many Buddhists who have placed their own agendas over the teachings of the Buddha.

Because of this, it might better to cite the Pakasaniya Kamma --- the official proclamation when one's words and physical actions are no longer related to the Buddha, the Dharma, or the Sangha --- the proclamation is not required when it's self-evident in one's behavior or misconduct.

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Mr
written by yy lew , September 02, 2008

It really doesn't matter. Moslems? Christians? Buddhists? Jews? Or even atheist?
At the end of the day, your body rot and smells just like mine.
Unless you are now on the way of becoming a God, all of us will meet at the great world amusement park which some of us call hell.
So, it really doesn't matter one bit.

kind rgds

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Buddhism Is Rational, Christianity Is Superstitious
written by phengkimving , September 02, 2008

Every one in the world in the past & the present including Albert Einstein knows that Buddhism is rational & Christianity is superstitious. The student in your article who degrades Buddhism as superstitious is typical of a person in a Buddhist country who knows nothing about Buddhism.

Anti-Buddhism idiotic superstitious overzealous Protestant Lee Myung Bak will be toppled & eliminated soon, just like anti-Buddhism idiotic superstitious overzealous Catholic South-Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem was toppled & eliminated by South-Vietnamese Buddhist (military) generals in the early 1960s, or at least just toppled like the anti-Buddhism idiotic superstitious overzealous Muslim Talibans of Afganistan were toppled by the USA in 2001 & now are still running & hiding for their lives.

According to a government document, there are fewer Buddhists than Christians in South Korea: 23% of the population are Buddhists while 29% are Christians. How can that happen?? Korea used to be a Buddhist country. How could the Buddhists let that happen?? Didn't they know how to defend rational Buddhism against superstitious Christianity??

Christians are well known for cheats using charity to mask their ultimate goal of converting people to
Christianity. They were successful in some very poor countries like the Filippines, where the poor people, who're the vast majority, are attracted to the lure of money or rice or clothes. Was South Korea a very poor country??

The 3 Buddhist IndoChinese countries of Cambodia, Laos, & Vietnam used to be French colonies for almost a century. During the almost-100-year colonial period, of course the French Catholic church tried hard to proselytize these 3 countries. However, now for Cambodia & Laos, only 0.1% of the poplulation are Catholics while 98% are Buddhists, and for Vietnam, only 2% are Catholics while 95% are Buddhists. Was South Korea even a colony of a Western country??

After all, it was the fault of the South-Korean Buddhists: they were too passive toward the Christian aggression.

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Buddhist Missionary Works?
written by k1rus , September 02, 2008

'.. church donations have flowed into overseas missionary works. The Korean Buddhists have not been an exception: they too send out priests and laymen to Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka where Buddhism remains strong.'

I can't see the paralles between (aggressive) Christian missions and some kind of Buddhist scholar exchange.
Please tell me more.

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