[KS] Re: Korea Herald: Religious Intolerance in Korea

[Walter K. Lew]

Prof. Tedesco,

Thank you for the story and for your cultural activism,

Yours, Walter K. Lew

>>>>> >      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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