A Geek in Korea. Daniel Tudor
of classic Confucian texts, ceremonies, and ethics. Those who did sufficiently well could become civil servants. In early Joseon Korea, this was virtually the only route to wealth and status. Thus the Korean education fetish was born. This country has the world’s highest university enrolment rate. Even children as young as ten spend hours every day in private cram schools, which operate after regular school hours. The aim is to gain entrance into one of the “SKY” universities: Seoul National, Korea, or Yonsei University.
KOREAN BUDDHISM A SHOCKED KING CONVERTS HIS KINGDOM
Buddhism first came to the Korean peninsula via a Chinese monk named Sundo, in 372 AD. In those days, there was no “unified” Korea, but rather three separate states—Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. The royal families of the first two came to adopt Buddhism, while their subjects mostly stuck with shamanism. Importantly though, this was never the cause of any friction. Even today, shamanism and Buddhism “blend” in Korea, meaning that those who follow one tend to follow the other as well.
Black Buddhist stone piles. Each stone represents a prayer of the person who built the pile. Such features are very common around temples both in Korea and throughout the Buddhist world.
BUDDHISM AS STATE RELIGION
Silla’s rulers first rejected the new faith, but eventually made it into their state religion due to the actions of one man—according to legend, at least. In 527, a court official named Ichadon announced that he was a Buddhist, and implored King Beopheung to make Silla a Buddhist state. When this request was rejected, he forced his own execution by deliberately insulting members of the court. The story goes that when his head was cut off, the blood that flowed out was white, not red. Ichadon had predicted this earlier. The stunned king then converted Silla to Buddhism.
Lanterns placed in honor of Buddha’s birthday. In Korea, Buddha’s birthday is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar.
Silla unified Korea, and thus, Buddhism came to be the official religion of the whole peninsula. And following the fall of Silla and the proclamation of the Koryo kingdom (from which the English word “Korea” was derived) in 918, Buddhism’s power grew even stronger. Lavish temples were built, and many had their own private armies. Monks were exempt from taxation. There were also extraordinary achievements: the carving of the entire Buddhist canon on to 81,258 wooden blocks, completed in 1259.
A part of the Tripitaka Koreana, at Haeinsa temple.
Apprentice monks. These young boys have had their heads shaved, in preparation for training to become monks.
DECLINE AND RECOVERY
The founding of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392 brought in a new Confucian elite. They despised Buddhism, and like the shamanists, the once-privileged monks were pushed to the margins of society. There, Buddhism and shamanism—which had never had a hostile relationship—began to blend more closely. Even today, one can see portraits of Sanshin, the shaman mountain god, at Buddhist temples. People who seek the advice of mudang (shamans) will also follow the Buddha. And also like shamanism, Buddhism has undergone something of a renaissance in modern Korea. Around 23 percent of the population is Buddhist. There are popular monks who give public lectures, write bestselling books, and go on television.
Monks Behaving Badly?
There is no real “rock star CEO” in Korea. Sometimes, entire teams behave as though they were rock stars. In 2012, a major scandal tarnished the leadership of the Jogye Order, an organization which accounts for 90 percent of Korea’s Buddhists, and has an annual budget of 30 billion won (around US$27 million). It emerged that senior monks were gambling, drinking, smoking, and even visiting “room salons” (hostess bars), with temple donors’ money.
BUDDHISM AND BUSINESS
And this religion, which encourages followers to group together in a “Sang-ha” community dedicated to sustained, mutual improvement, influences both Korean and Japanese business culture. The Japanese word kaizen is much-loved by management theorists, and is most frequently associated with Japanese companies like Toyota. However, its meaning—“continuous improvement”—is also applicable to Korean firms, such as Samsung Electronics. The top Korean firms operate like tight communities of dedicated team-workers, and do not tend to create radically inventive products, but rather refine and perfect existing ones. The CEO is top dog, but he is not seen as an indispensable individual, like in the US, but rather as the leader of a great team.
Buddhist temple art at Bulguksa, Gyeongju.
Such Taenghwa art is one of the best reasons to visit a Buddhist temple in Korea, and Bulguksa is no exception.
The temple of Yonggungsa at Gijang, near Busan.
Yonggungsa’s location—cut into the rocky coastline—makes it one of the most visually striking temples in the whole of Korea.
CHRISTIANITY IN KOREA: THE POWERFUL NEWCOMER
Though this Western religious import has been around for several centuries, it was only in the mid and late 20th century that Christianity really began to grow rapidly. It may surprise you to learn that Christianity is now the most common faith in Korea. With the exception of East Timor, it is the country with the highest proportion of churchgoers in Asia. Korea is also second only to the US in the export of Christian missionaries.
CATHOLIC INROADS
Catholicism began to make inroads into Korea in the 17th and 18th centuries. Korean scholars based in China began studying Catholic texts, and bringing them back to their homeland. Prominent figures like scholar and reformer Dasan Jeong Yak-yong were among those who began deeply studying the incoming religion.
Myeongdong Cathedral. Completed in May 1898, Myeongdong Cathedral is the center of Korean Catholicism. The cathedral was also a focal point for pro-democracy protestors in the 1970s and 1980s, with figures like Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan offering them protection there from the authorities.
Nuns enjoy a picnic in the grounds of a palace.
In 1801, the court of Queen Jeongsun grew especially fearful of Catholicism following the discovery of a letter to the Bishop of Beijing from Hwang Sa-yeong (Dasan’s brother-in-law) inviting foreign powers to invade Korea. The Queen denounced Catholics as traitors, and launched the so-called Sinyu Persecution, which led to mass executions of believers.
As a result, the growth of Catholicism was impeded; by 1882, there were still only 12,500 Catholics in the whole country. Sinyu and subsequent persecutions also led Catholicism to take on an insular, quiet orientation in Korea. Even in these days of religious freedom, Korean Catholics are nowhere near as vocal about their faith as Korean Protestants.
A Protestant preacher in Myeongdong, Seoul. Usually the message of such street