[KS] Korea Herald: Religious Intolerance in Korea
Frank Tedesco
tedesco at uriel.net
Fri Jul 31 09:55:08 EDT 1998
>>>> > 07-31-98 : Vandalized Temples Reveal Religious
>>>> > Intolerance; Local Buddhist Leaders Condemn Acts of
>>>> > Discrimination by Christian Extremists
>>>> >
>>>> > By Tom Welsh Staff reporter
>>>> >
>>>> > The Venerable Won-song should be pleased with his new temple in
>>>> > northeastern Seoul.
>>>> >
>>>> > Rising on the slopes of Mt. Pukhan, the brightly painted building
>>>> > is capped with a gilded pagoda containing Buddhist relics. Most
>>>> > would agree it lives up to its name: ``Hall of Brilliant
Illumination.''
>>>> >
>>>> > But the abbot shows ambivalence.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``Sometimes I look at this building and think it's ridiculous,''
>>>> > he said. ``The beauty of Korean architecture lies in the line of
>>>> > the wood. It's difficult to achieve the same effect in concrete _
>>>> > but we had no choice. If a calamity like that ever happened
>>>> > again, I couldn't bear it.''
>>>> >
>>>> > Two years ago, an arson attack destroyed a pair of
>>>> > traditional-style wooden structures on the site, which is called
>>>> > Ponwon Cheong-sa. With damages exceeding $5.6 million, Ven.
>>>> > Won-song says that only his followers' support allowed him to
>>>> > rebuild.
>>>> >
>>>> > The elaborate $2.1 million building is more than a symbol of
>>>> > renewal; it reflects a new, vaguely combative element in the
>>>> > monk's outlook.
>>>> >
>>>> > Though district police officials have never solved the crime,
>>>> > Ven. Won-song has drawn his own conclusions.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``I hoped I would overcome this feeling, but every time I see a
>>>> > cross, I become angry,'' he said.
>>>> >
>>>> > Statements like these are rare in South Korea, with its tradition
>>>> > of religious harmony, seasoned with Confucian restraint.
>>>> >
>>>> > But the activities of some hard-line Christians, many of whom can
>>>> > be found promulgating in shopping districts, on subways and even
>>>> > on temple grounds, could change that.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``For them (the Christians), this is a war,'' said Lee Chi-ran, a
>>>> > dharma instructor and member of the local Buddhist media. ``Much
>>>> > of the mainstream media is dominated by Christians, and coverage
>>>> > of anti-Buddhist incidents is rare. Many people don't understand
>>>> > what's going on.''
>>>> >
>>>> > The religious conflict is difficult to grasp. The brand of
>>>> > religious tension that exists here is more subtle and less
>>>> > publicized than that found in, say, Northern Ireland. And most
>>>> > South Koreans appear shocked at the suggestion that there are
>>>> > problems between the country's Christian and Buddhist
>>>> > communities.
>>>> >
>>>> > This surface impression was punctured earlier this month when
>>>> > leaders of the Chogye Order, the country's largest Buddhist sect,
>>>> > issued a strongly worded statement decrying religious
>>>> > discrimination in South Korea.
>>>> >
>>>> > In an emergency conference, the Committee to Counter Religious
>>>> > Discrimination (CCRD), a group comprising 21 Buddhist
>>>> > organizations, went so far as to demand a public apology from the
>>>> > government of President Kim Dae-jung for alleged pro-Christian
>>>> > bias.
>>>> >
>>>> > The group's co-president, the Venerable Song-kang, cited comments
>>>> > by top presidential aide Hahn Hwa-kap, who reportedly said, ``God
>>>> > gave us this government.''
>>>> >
>>>> > Distributed at the meeting were accounts of anti-Buddhist
>>>> > incidents of the past decade or so, including a scholarly study
>>>> > compiled by Dr. Frank Tedesco, a professor at Sejong University
>>>> > and lecturer at the University of Maryland.
>>>> >
>>>> > A resident of South Korea for the past 10 years, Dr. Tedesco
>>>> > showed that between 1986 and 1996, at least 20 Buddhist temples
>>>> > and shrines, including one national treasure, were damaged or
>>>> > destroyed in arson attacks, while scores of others were
>>>> > vandalized.
>>>> >
>>>> > Supplementary research by the CCRD indicates that in 1997, no
>>>> > fewer than 20 temples were targeted by arsonists.
>>>> >
>>>> > The most recent assault on Buddhist property occurred last month,
>>>> > when a man carrying a bible smashed almost 750 granite statues in
>>>> > a temple on Cheju Island. The damage was estimated at 150 million
>>>> > won (about $111,000).
>>>> >
>>>> > The Reverend Kim Kyung-jae, a senior professor at Seoul's Hanshin
>>>> > Graduate School of Theology _ a 10-minute walk from Ponwon
>>>> > Cheong-sa _ recalls how three temples were set ablaze in his
>>>> > Suyu-dong neighborhood two years ago, just days before the annual
>>>> > celebration of Buddha's Birthday.
>>>> >
>>>> > Rev. Kim, one of a handful of South Korean Protestant leaders who
>>>> > have actively pursued dialogue with the Buddhist community, says
>>>> > the perpetrators, who remain at large, may have been Christian
>>>> > extremists.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``But I want to stress that incidents like arson attacks on
>>>> > Buddhist temples and the desecration of Buddhist monuments are
>>>> > the work of small, fanatical circles,'' he said. ``Of the eight
>>>> > to 10 million Protestant Christians in Korea, maybe two-thirds
>>>> > are conservative, one-third progressive. Only a small percentage
>>>> > of the conservatives hold such extreme views.''
>>>> >
>>>> > Rev. Kim adds, however, that the fundamentalist orientation of
>>>> > most Protestant sects in Korea has contributed to an environment
>>>> > in which inter-religious dialogue is difficult _ and one in which
>>>> > Christian leaders have been reluctant to criticize the excesses
>>>> > of their own adherents.
>>>> >
>>>> > With the political climate governed by the previous
>>>> > administration's strident Christian leadership, the silence of
>>>> > Protestant leaders during anti-Buddhist incidents between 1996
>>>> > and 1997 is better understood.
>>>> >
>>>> > The Reverend Kim Young-ju, director of international affairs for
>>>> > the Korean National Council of Churches, admits that his
>>>> > organization failed to speak up.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``Former President Kim Young-sam was a very conservative elder of
>>>> > the Presbyterian church, and there were many conservative
>>>> > Christians at the time who wanted to turn Korea into a Christian
>>>> > state,'' Rev. Kim said. ``At the KNCC, we condemn that
>>>> > attitude...We want to reform our position. We want more dialogue
>>>> > with other religions.''
>>>> >
>>>> > He says he sees hope in Korea's younger, more flexible Protestant
>>>> > leaders. But Buddhist leaders appear unwilling to wait for this
>>>> > anticipated generational shift.
>>>> >
>>>> > In April, the CCRD was founded in response to reports of
>>>> > religious discrimination at a military base south of Seoul at the
>>>> > time of Buddha's Birthday.
>>>> >
>>>> > A commanding officer identified as a Christian reportedly
>>>> > demanded that soldiers planning to mark the holiday at the base
>>>> > temple submit a statement explaining their motives _ a move that
>>>> > immediately put Buddhists on the defensive.
>>>> >
>>>> > In a more graphic display of anti-Buddhist sentiment, piles of
>>>> > sewage were found on the temple grounds. Christian extremists are
>>>> > suspected by authorities.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``There have been many similar reports, but this one convinced us
>>>> > that we couldn't stand it anymore,'' Ven. Song-kang said. ``In
>>>> > the past, whenever such incidents occurred, representatives of
>>>> > the Buddhist community expressed their dismay to the government,
>>>> > which replied that it would do its best. But it has never been
>>>> > enough. That's why it was necessary to form this committee.''
>>>> >
>>>> > The first step, he said, was establishing a telephone hotline for
>>>> > people to report instances of anti-Buddhist vandalism and
>>>> > discrimination.
>>>> >
>>>> > Now, the group is demanding a public apology from local police
>>>> > officials, whom they say continue to attribute anti-Buddhist
>>>> > incidents to disturbed individuals, despite evidence that many
>>>> > were carried out systematically by groups.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``Of the 20 arson attacks on temples that took place last year,
>>>> > the police apprehended suspects in 13 cases and discovered they
>>>> > were Christians,'' he said. ``The majority of the attacks took
>>>> > place between midnight and 2 a.m., and in most cases, there was a
>>>> > vehicle waiting for the perpetrators...We suspect that there is
>>>> > some organization behind these attacks and doubt that those
>>>> > involved are mentally ill. We believe they are normal people
>>>> > acting on extreme convictions.''
>>>> >
>>>> > While Buddhist leaders concede that a militant Christian
>>>> > conspiracy is difficult to prove, they have documented instances
>>>> > of police ``indifference.''
>>>> >
>>>> > CCRD members suggest little has changed since 1986, when an arson
>>>> > fire destroyed the main hall of Kumsan-sa, a temple in
>>>> > southwestern Korea that is listed as a national treasure. Police
>>>> > apprehended a suspect on the scene, an active member of a local
>>>> > church. Though he confessed to the crime, the suspect was
>>>> > released for ``lack of evidence.''
>>>> >
>>>> > More recently, a 23-year-old man wielding a hammer burst into a
>>>> > temple in southern Seoul this past spring and severely damaged a
>>>> > Buddhist image. A couple of district officials, who happened to
>>>> > be on the scene, detained the man and contacted police, a witness
>>>> > said.
>>>> >
>>>> > The Venerable Kim Ja-in, abbot of the temple, known as Podok-sa,
>>>> > says police released the young man ``without further inquiries.''
>>>> > Frustrated, Ven. Kim then approached the Buddhist media, giving
>>>> > an account of the perpetrators' threatening behavior in the weeks
>>>> > leading up to the incident. He also displayed a signed bible the
>>>> > young man allegedly forced upon him in an effort to convert the
>>>> > monk to Christianity.
>>>> >
>>>> > Ven. Kim says negative publicity alone prompted police to arrest
>>>> > the suspect.
>>>> >
>>>> > A police official in the district of Pangbae-dong did not dispute
>>>> > the abbot's account. He added, however, that an internal
>>>> > investigation has since taken place, and the officers involved
>>>> > were ``admonished.'' The official attributed the incident's
>>>> > mishandling to a ``misunderstanding.''
>>>> >
>>>> > Rev. Kim Kyung-jae attributes this growing catalogue of
>>>> > anti-Buddhist incidents to the exclusive brand of Protestant
>>>> > Christianity that has grown up in South Korea since the
>>>> > partitioning of the peninsula in 1945.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``At first, Korean Protestants adopted the role of a ``creative
>>>> > minority,'' taking issue with the unjust practices of a highly
>>>> > stratified society and, later, the brutal policies of Japan's
>>>> > colonial government,'' Rev. Kim said. ``Many Koreans were
>>>> > inspired by a gospel they associated with liberation and
>>>> > progress.''
>>>> >
>>>> > The greatest period of conversion, he continued, came after
>>>> > Korea's liberation from Japanese rule at the end of World War II.
>>>> > In the aftermath of the Korean War, schools and hospitals were
>>>> > built in South Korea under the auspices of missionary
>>>> > organizations, and assistance from Christian charitable
>>>> > organizations flooded the country. Along with this aid came
>>>> > droves of American Protestant missionaries, whose views were
>>>> > often informed by fundamentalism.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``The missionaries taught the laity that they must believe
>>>> > completely in the Bible's content, word for word,'' Rev. Kim
>>>> > said. ``This view was passed on by Korean Protestant leaders. And
>>>> > today, when Korean laypersons read the Bible and come across
>>>> > Jesus and his apostles making exclusive statements, they tend to
>>>> > interpret them literally.''
>>>> >
>>>> > Paradoxically, 120 years after the arrival of the first
>>>> > Protestant missionaries, local Buddhists leaders, who represent
>>>> > about half of Koreans who state a religious preference, come off
>>>> > like spokesmen of a beleaguered minority.
>>>> >
>>>> > Religious tension
>>>> >
>>>> > Dr. Tedesco, an American citizen who practices Buddhism,
>>>> > attributes this phenomenon, in part, to certain characteristics
>>>> > of Korean Buddhism, which was suppressed by the neo-Confucian
>>>> > elite of Korea's last ruling dynasty (1392-1910). He notes that
>>>> > the household shrines and daily rituals characteristic of other
>>>> > traditional Buddhist countries are nowhere to be found in South
>>>> > Korea.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``There is an urgent need to teach Christians and the general
>>>> > public about Buddhism,'' Dr. Tedesco said. ``But I regret that
>>>> > many Buddhists aren't up to the job, because they themselves
>>>> > don't know enough...You have an astute and elite clergy, many of
>>>> > whom are quite brilliant. But current Buddhist education has been
>>>> > poor, at least in terms of mass education.''
>>>> >
>>>> > What is being lost, he says, between the ignorance of many
>>>> > Buddhists and hostility of many Christians is a significant chunk
>>>> > of Korea's cultural heritage.
>>>> >
>>>> > ``Over 90 percent of Korean cultural artifacts in museums here
>>>> > and abroad are Buddhist. And it's pathetic that many South
>>>> > Koreans, regarded as among the world's most educated people,
>>>> > teach their children to be afraid of Buddhist monks and nuns and
>>>> > do not dare venture into a compound of temples. These seemingly
>>>> > well-educated people who deny their heritage need to reflect on
>>>> > what they're doing to themselves.
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>> > Copyright 1998 Korea Herald. All right reserved.
>>>> > Designed by ISM Corporation
>>>> http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/kh0731/m0731c02.html
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