Buddhism puts on young face

By Choi Si-young, The Korea Herald, April 8, 2024

Seoul, South Korea -- Buddhism has traditionally prioritized silence, a hallmark of meditation that sets the religion apart. That notion took a hard turn Thursday as a DJ in a monk’s robe kicked off the four-day International Buddhism Expo in Seoul, shouting out Buddhist verses to the beat of electronic dance music.

“I’d say the event is living up to the slogan they put out,” said Kim Hyung-sik, an undergraduate Seoulite in 20s attending the expo on the first day, referring to the slogan written across the stage that read “Joyful Buddhism.”

Kim, who also attended last year’s 10th anniversary edition, is an atheist who has no intention of joining a religion.

That does not mean he shies away from “exploring what each faith has to offer,” he noted, saying the EDM stage -- which sparked a surge in traffic that downed the website for the expo -- could be an opening for the younger generation, who often equate having a faith with giving up on life’s “joys.”

That thinking is not at odds with the leadership at the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the expo organizer, according to a senior official at the largest Buddhist sect in Korea.

“We need to think fresh to bring in fresh believers,” the official said, adding there had been little or almost no internal opposition to inviting onstage the monk DJ -- a comedian who has appeared in previous Jogye-organized events as the “Ven. New Jean,” wordplay on K-pop group New Jeans.

A statue made of chocolate, alongside colorful drawings of Buddha hanging atop a makeshift structure, was a demonstration of that change -- both from the inside and outside the order.

“I wanted to explore beyond what’s traditional,” Kim Min-ji said of her Pensive Bodhisattva made of chocolate. To Sheryn, as the 30-year-old artist is known, chocolate was an option both religious and commercially viable.

Reception to the attempts at making Buddhism “fresh” was encouraging -- even from those in the age group who might view “expanding the horizons” as a mockery of what should be treated with exceptional respect.

“No, I don’t see EDM as a deviation,” said Jeong Eun-ae, a 60-year-old Buddhist who was busy helping people put on VR headsets playing Buddhist scriptures at her booth, one of 435 booths set up at Setec.

“In Buddhism, there is no set of formalities to adhere to in the first place, hence no digression to call out,” she added. “And second, what matters is people follow Buddhist teachings in real life -- actually doing what they are told to do.”

According to Jeong, piquing interest is paramount, and she sees no problems in reaching out to younger people with what they find absorbing, like EDM, as long as practices and traditions are not sacrificed in the process or at the expense of missionary work.

Opposite the VR booth was a much larger space dedicated to a mass gathering.

About 40 people were in the middle of their 300 full prostrations, all bending on their knees to the beat of moktak, a handheld wooden drum.

“I wished for a good career as an artist,” said Jeremias Stefan, a Chilean national who arrived in Korea on New Year’s Day, 2019, finishing up the bows. K-pop boy band EXO was an inspiration that led the freelance model to pursue singing.

He refused to identify himself as a Buddhist.

“But I do meditation and bows. They help me,” he added. “I didn’t feel the same connection,” the 23-year-old said of why he had “quit Christianity” when he was back in Chile.