Korean government cannot afford to alienate Buddhists

[F.T]

Chosun Ilbo, Aug 26, 2008

Seoul, South Korea -- A protest rally against alleged religious bias
of the Lee Myung-bak administration was threatened for Wednesday, with
Buddhists to gather at Seoul Plaza Wednesday afternoon to demand an
open apology from President Lee and legislation against religious
discrimination.

Buddhists have mobilized participants and instructed temples across
the country to attend the rally. Significantly more monks and
laypeople than took part in the July 4 Buddhist protest against the
Lee administration, are expected to participate.

Elements of conflict have existed between Buddhism and the Lee
administration since the government took power. The evangelical zeal
of Lee, a Presbyterian, is well known; he provoked controversy as
Seoul mayor when he dedicated the metropolis to God.

Buddhists began to entertain serious suspicions when they saw the
lineup for the presidential office and Cabinet. A senior government
official's imprudent remark -- "My dream is to evangelize all
government ministries and offices" -- did little to dispel the suspicions.

And when the Seoul metropolitan area transportation information system
Algoga ("find your way"), administered by the Ministry of Land,
Transport and Maritime Affairs, omitted the names of major temples
late in June, things reached boiling point.

If we look closely at each step, the administration is not without
justification. The problem is that avoidable misunderstandings are
being repeated. In early August when Buddhist anger came to the fore,
the Education, Science and Technology Ministry's website, the
Educational Geographical Information System, again omitted famous
large temples.

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo issued a directive early in July asking
ministries and agencies to take special caution not to invite
misunderstandings from religious circles. Algoga and the information
system were built by the same firm. With a little care, the error
would not have happened again.

To make the matter worse, police, in the course of arresting Buddhist
ringleaders in candlelight protests, searched the car of the Jogye
Order leader, the Venerable Jigwan.

The attitude of the administration and the ruling party since
Buddhists complained is inappropriate. Cheong Wa Dae staff and other
officials have only paid lip service to the issue and senior ruling
party officials have been busy visiting provincial temples in a bid to
placate monks.

Some Buddhists even called for a rejection of their visits. It took
until last week for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to
emerge as the official channel for dialogue with the Jogye Order. No
wonder Buddhists have yet to be convinced of the administration' s
sincerity.

The protests won't cease until the government makes a sincere apology
and comes up with measures to prevent such actions, Buddhists say. "We
could continue protesting for the next five years," said one. Their
suspicions of the government run so deep that a resolution of the
conflict will be very difficult.

The burden for the Buddhist leadership must be great as well. The
conflict could deteriorate into a religious rift or invite criticism
that Buddhism fans social unrest. That is why Buddhists also need to
reconsider demands that have nothing to do with religious bias, such
as that leaders of illegal protests against U.S. beef imports should
be struck off the wanted list.

The two sides have become like locomotives running at each other. But
a sustained confrontation between the government and the religion that
has the most followers in the country is desirable for no one.
Buddhism and the administration should slow down, conduct frank
dialogue and search for a compromise.

The administration should map out specific measures assuring the trust
of Buddhists, and Buddhist leaders should look at the situation from a
broader viewpoint, freeing themselves from the sense of victimhood.
The public hope that Wednesday's rally will mark not a renewal but an
end to the conflict.

------------ -----
The column was contributed by Chosun Ilbo in-house columnist Lee Seon-min.

www.buddhistchannel .tv

[F.T]

Buddhists Urge Korean President to Apologize
By Park Si-soo, The Korea Times, Aug 27, 2008

Seoul, South Korea -- Tens of thousands of Buddhist monks and
followers from around the country flocked to central Seoul to protest
what they call the administration' s discrimination against one of the
country's largest religion.

Thousands of Buddhist monks and followers hold a rally in central
Seoul Wednesday to protest what they call government discrimination
against Buddhism. They demanded that President Lee apologize for
favoring Christianity. / Korea Times Photo by Park Seo-gang

Considered the largest protest by Buddhists in decades, the rally saw
more than 200,000 Buddhists from almost all orders - Jogye, Cheontae,
Taego and Gwaneum - take to the streets from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. They
marched to Jogye Temple located in Jongno, the de facto headquarters
of Korean Buddhism, following the rally.

They demanded an official apology to Buddhist from the President;
reprimands for public officials involved in religious discrimination,
including National Police Agency Commissioner General Eo Cheong-soo;
and legislation to ward off such discrimination. President Lee is a
minister at a Seoul church.

They also demanded the removal of members of the People's Association
against Mad Cow Disease hiding in a Buddhist temple from a wanted list.

``Unless the government meets our requests in a sincere manner, we
will hold additional rallies in other parts of the country in
cooperation with civic groups and religious organizations, '' the
protesters said in a statement.

None of the protesters wore masks or held candles, and instead sang
Buddhist hymns with putting their hands together under numerous
flapping banners containing messages condemning the government's
alleged bias toward Christianity.

They urged the administration to stop discriminating against their
religion.

``Our Buddhists have served as a `buttress' in promoting inter-faith
harmony,'' the statement said. ``But several instances of
discrimination against Buddhism have occurred since President Lee took
office in February. In addition, the President snubbed it. This has
apparently violated the Constitution, which bans any form of religious
discrimination and impedance to social unity.''

The dispute erupted after police officers searched the car of the Ven.
Jigwan, the chief executive of the country's largest Buddhist order,
Jogye, in their search for anti-U.S. beef protest organizers taking
shelter at a downtown temple.

Following the incident, Buddhists cited dozens of examples of
anti-Buddhist discrimination. For instance, a transportation data
system provided by the government in June omitted locations of
Buddhist temples. Maps of Cheonggye Stream, a body of water reopened
while President Lee was mayor of Seoul, also excluded temples.

Meanwhile, Seoul City government decided to impose a fine on rally
organizers as they went ahead with the protest without permission. A
Jogye Temple worker refuted the allegation, saying ``we sent an
official note to the office on Aug. 17 to request approval.'' He added
the city government has never restricted the holding of a religious
event.

www.buddhistchannel .tv

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[SandalJepit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Myung-bak
Religion

Some feel that Lee's religious beliefs present a threat to Buddhism in Korea. When Lee was mayor of Seoul, he declared the city "a holy place governed by God" and the citizens of Seoul "God's people." He went on the dedicate the city "to the Lord." In 2006, Lee also sent a video prayer message to a Christian rally where the worship leader called on God to "let the Buddhist temples in this country crumble down!" Lee reportedly received 80% of Korea's Christian votes.[45]

In August 2008, Buddhist monks protested against Myung-bak's pro-Christian politics.[46] Lee Myung-bak and his government has been accused by many Buddhist groups, including the influential Jogye order, of discriminating against and promoting hostility toward Buddhism.[47] According to Buddhists, Christian persecution of Buddhism has intensified in South Korea in recent years. Christians have maltreated and humiliated Buddhist laity and monks, burned down temples, and vandalized Sutras and devotional items. [48] A former pastor and presidential secretary showed the government's hostility and intolerance toward Buddhism when he compared the protesters against religious discrimination to "Satan's minions." [49]