The Lotus Village People' to help for 'Lai-DaiHan'
And their Buddhism-based Korean wave(佛敎韓流) in Vietnam
Korea and Vietnam have enjoyed mutual inter-exchanges of economy & culture for the past decade, providing opportunity of understanding and loving each other, whatever the both's interests are.
Neverthless the bilateral friendly tie is going on, there has been an important problem to be solved by Korea and Vietnam as soon as possible, with the view point of Cosmopolitan-humanitarianism.
It was about 'Lai-DaiHan' who were born between Korean and Vietnamese, what's called 'the unhappy generation' exclusived from the Korea, as well as Vietnam.
To solve this pending problem, recently Korea-Vietnam buddhism cooperated in the name of charitable organization, named 'the Lotus Village People', whose joint-representative, composed of Korean Monk 'Su-Won'(修願), Head priest of 'Cheon Kyong-Temple', and Vietnamese Monk named 'Kak-Jeon'(覺全).
We had an interview with Monk 'Su-Won' to cover articles about his portfolio for solving Lai-DaiHan's problem through mutual exchange of Buddhism.
Q1) Any special reason to focus on charitable work for 'Lai-DaiHan' ?
A1) I dare to say, they may be a creature of unhappy time, a clear contradiction of Korean modern history. Has anybody ever thought of it ?
So actually they are 'forgotten generation' by us, and even by Vietnam where they were born and grown.
This is why, as a disciple of Buddha, we decided to join Vietnamese Buddhists, taking the lead in accepting them as indiscriminated member of our human society.
Because we are the same under Buddha, though we have different way of life, language, and political system each other.
Q2) Could you tell us about 'Korean Language Center' in 'Center-temple'(中心寺) of Hochimin city ?
A2) 'The Lotus Village People', a Korea-Vietnam Buddhist-based Joint charitable organization, set up it together in 'Center-temple', one of the biggest Buddha temples in Vietnam, for more lubricated exchange of mutual culture, understanding each other.
It has 8 teachers from Korea, who have teached Korean language voluntarily there.
Many Vietnamese Buddhists, including monks, are now learning Korean to understand more about Korean Buddhism.
Perhaps I think this language center would be definitely a center of Korea-Vietnam's buddhism culture in the future.
Q3) What's your new plan in this year ?
A3) First of all we make the efforts to improve 'Lai-DaiHan's social position, deleting all pending prejudices toward them, through more frequent exchange of Buddhism between two countries.
And in the meanwhile, we simultaneously promote the charity-based social service activity in Vietnam, with association of Korea-Vietnam's Buddhism, showing mercy to 'Lai-DaiHan'
국제부 이명근 기자
