Presidential couple angers Buddhist monks by sitting on temple's cornerstone

Presidential couple angers Buddhist monks by sitting on temple's cornerstone
Presidential couple angers Buddhist monks by sitting on temple's cornerstone
Posted : 2022-04-10 16:55
Updated : 2022-04-10 17:23






President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook sit on the cornerstones of the Bubheung Temple site in Mt. Bugak, while listening to Kim Hyun-mo, administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, April 5. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae

Civic group sues CHA administrator for defamation

By Lee Hae-rin

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kim Jung-sook annoyed Buddhist monks by sitting on the cornerstones of Bubheung Temple's assumed site while taking a rest during a hike to Mt. Bugaksan on April 5. Buddhists claimed that the presidential couple's actions demonstrated their "poor understanding" of the cultural site.

During a hike to mark the opening of the mountain trail, the president and first lady sat on the cornerstones featuring a lotus flower pattern at a site presumed to be where Bubheung Temple used to be located.

Administrator Kim Hyun-mo of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), who was present on the trail, did not stop them from sitting on the stones and explained, "These cornerstones are some of the recent ones," which, according to the administrator, "lack any value as cultural heritage."

The photo featuring the presidential couple taking a rest on cornerstones sparked an uproar among Buddhist leaders.

In a statement released on April 8, the Jogye Order said that for Buddhists, the site of Bubheung Temple is a painful reminder of the suspended Buddhist service as the area was shut down in the 1960s after a North Korean spy tried to infiltrate Cheong Wa Dae. "The presidential couple sitting on the cornerstones is an action that hurts Buddhists again," the statement read.

In response to the criticism, the Cultural Heritage Administration explained that the cornerstones are neither designated nor registered cultural properties. In a statement, the administration conceded to the criticism that it "failed to come up with detailed preparation (for the event)" and promised to work on preserving the Bupheung Temple site's precious value in the future.

On that day, Park Soo-hyun, senior secretary for public communication also apologized on Cheong Wa Dae's behalf for causing inconvenience due to a lack of consideration and said that "President Moon's respect for Buddha and Buddhism remains unchanged."



President Moon Jae-in, front, first lady Kim Jung-sook bow to the Buddha during their hike on Mt. Bugak, April 5. Screenshot from Park Soo-hyun's Facebook

According to Park's social media post on April 7, the president regularly pays respect to the Buddha located behind the presidential residence, which he did again on the day of the hike along with his officials.

His excuse, however, failed to calm anger among Buddhist monks.

"These words from government officials are very dangerous and could make people think it's acceptable to play fast and loose with objects that are not designated as cultural heritage," the Buddhist order said, April 8, calling for the resignation of the CHA administrator and senior secretary for public communication.

Meanwhile, some Buddhist monks claimed the Jogye Order overreacted.

"I tell you as a monk from the Jogye Order … It is okay to sit on a random cornerstone at an empty temple site and rest for a while during a hike," wrote Ven. Young-dam from Young-dam Hanji Art Museum in North Gyeongsang Province on his Facebook, Friday.

"While you rest, take a look at the clouds over distant mountains and figure little things out from an empty temple, Buddha will be pleased," the monk wrote, apologizing for the order's backlash on the issue.

Ven. Heo-jung from Jogye Order also found the sect's criticism to be unreasonable and wrote on his Facebook, April 7, "These are obviously stones that were moved by machines to construct a new building, so why make a fuss about them being a cultural heritage?"

Mt. Bugak lies behind Cheong Wa Dae and had remained closed to the public since 1968 when armed agents from North Korea attempted to infiltrate the presidential office to eliminate ex-President Park Chung-hee. Only some trails were opened to the public in 2000 until it was entirely unveiled last week.

A civic group filed a lawsuit against CHA administrator Kim for defamation.