On the other hand, I think the Korean Buddhists are not doing enough to educate the masses about Buddhism, the tenets and what these statues represent. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are certainly not Gods in the Christian sense but are spiritually evolved beings that Buddhists take refuge in inspiration of their spiritual qualities. That would be one way the Korean Buddhists can do to educate people so religious harmony is restored in Korea. However, knowing how aggressive the Christians are, I think it would be better to resolve this in the court of law still.
Yes I do agree. I did a little research on religious statistics in Korea and here's the numbers :
Source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_South_KoreaOf the South Korean population, 24% are Buddhist, 26% are Christians (12% are Protestants and 14% are Catholics), and the rest adheres to various minority religions including Jeung San Do, Daesun Jinrihoe, Cheondoism, Taoism and Confucianism. A smaller minority of Koreans also profess Islam.This source is quite interesting, showing the situation with Buddhism in the world (though the data could be a bit outdated)
http://www.berzinarchives.com/web/en/archives/approaching_buddhism/world_today/current_sit_buddhism_world.htmlBuddhism in South Korea is still strong, although facing a growing challenge from Evangelic Christian movements. There are many monastic communities of monks and nuns with much popular support. The meditational tradition is particularly flourishing, especially of Son, the Korean form of Zen. In North Korea, on the other hand, except for a token monastery open for propaganda purposes, Buddhism is severely repressed.With the highest percentage being Christianity, I wonder if the government is skewed towards supporting the church as mega big bucks are deposited into the establishment and the influence of the church is obviously of great weight.
Perhaps it boils down to economic and political reasons for the lack of support Buddhist temples has from the government. I am not knocking down the korean government in anyway..but merely making my own observation. This reason is not that far different for monasteries to be on the good side of TGIE/CTA for continuous support and funding at the expense of what is right and what is wrong?!
Have a careful read of this article, a church who has 1 million members from all walks of life. Source :
http://www.economist.com/node/21532340For God and country
An influential pastor comes under scrutiny for his business dealings
Oct 15th 2011
KOREA has long been a hotbed of religiosity. Before a certain Kim Il Sung began having other ideas, Pyongyang (now the capital of North Korea) used to be known as “The Jerusalem of the East”. And in today's Seoul, practitioners of traditional shamanism, Buddhism, Christianity and even cults such as the Unification Church (better known in the West as the Moonies), all have plenty of followers.
Many of them also have lots of money (not least because religious institutions are tax-exempt). The Protestant church, in particular, seems to have produced a tribe of flashy, mansion-dwelling pastors. This is partly a result of the character of Korean Protestantism: a common theme, for instance, at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul is that a poor Christian is not a good Christian. However, it is also a result of the incentives created by the sheer size of some churches. Yoido itself ranks as the largest Christian congregation in the world, with over 1m members. Another, Somang Church, has hundreds of thousands of faithful, including South Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak.
With all these people throwing their spare won into the collection plate, mega-churches have become big businesses. Yoido Full Gospel Church's founder Cho Yong-gi, who has run the congregation since 1958, has family interests ranging from private universities to newspapers. Members of his church were once asked to pray for higher sales for one of his titles.
A pastor at a Seoul-based church of a mere 60,000 members notes that the likes of Yoido have become “so big, and with assets so huge, that human greed comes into play”. And in late September, following complaints by 29 church elders, prosecutors began investigating Mr Cho over the alleged embezzlement of
23 billion won ($20m) from Yoido's funds. A documentary aired by MBC, a television station, claims that this money was used to buy property in America. The show also charged that Mr Cho's wife sold a building constructed with collection money for her own gain. Its buyer was Hansei University—an institution where she also happens to be president. Mr and Mrs Cho deny the allegations.
Yoido Church's founder is rarely out of the news in South Korea. In March he sparked a storm of criticism by claiming the earthquake and tsunami in Japan was “God's warning” to a country that follows “idol worship, atheism, and materialism”.He is also too political for some. When President Lee's government drew up plans to legislate for Islamic sukuk bonds in South Korea, Mr Cho argued that this would aid “terrorists”, and that the president was forgetting the vital role the Protestant lobby had in electing him. Following concerted efforts by Mr Cho and other South Korean church leaders, the government blinked first, and the plan was dropped.There are plenty of rank-and-file Christians in South Korea who do not indulge in the cathedralism of the mega-pastors. Many of the underground networks helping North Koreans on the run in China are organised by South Korean Christians. Refugees who reach South Korea are often cared for by church groups, and South Korean church aid-agencies are usually among the first to respond to natural disasters around the world, including the Japanese tsunami in March.
But in a country that thrives on group activities and collective bonding, as well as religion, Seoul is a natural home for mega-churches. The likes of Mr Cho, for all their flaws, provide something that millions of Koreans find irresistible.
