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| In this Dec. 24, 2020, file photo, a healthcare worker is dressed up in a Santa Claus costume at a coronavirus testing center in Gwangju. Yonhap |
By Yoon Ja-young
The government campaign to promote a festive spirit to the public through Christmas carols during the year-end season is facing a strong backlash from Buddhists.
The Association of Korean Buddhist Orders announced on Dec. 2 that it filed for an injunction to stop the government from using its budget allocated for the campaign.
The country's largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, also announced on Dec. 1 that it cannot help but be astonished by the government's plan to promote carols officially.
"The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which should be fair and impartial in policies regarding religion, is leading a Christian missionary project on the pretense of comforting people," it said in the announcement.
"If the songs, which some people are uncomfortable about, are played continuously through the media, it turns into a deadly weapon, and is nothing more than pollution for those people," it added.
The criticism follows the culture ministry's campaign to promote Christmas carols in the month of December, to which it allocated a budget of 1 billion won. This joint campaign with the Catholic Archdiocese of Seoul Office, the National Council of Churches in Korea and the United Christian Churches of Korea, as well as music services providers, is encouraging places where people gather, such as coffee shops, restaurants and retail outlets, to play more Christmas carols. Under the current copyright law, some business categories, such as coffee shops, gyms, retail outlets and department stores are subject to paying royalties if their shop area is 50 square meters or bigger, from the spot where speakers are placed. One of the reasons Christmas carols have been disappearing from public places in recent years was rising music service fees. Some people thus have been complaining that Christmas doesn't feel like Christmas anymore.
During the campaign, radio stations, including KBS, MBC and SBS will play more Christmas carols than before, while music service providers will distribute free coupons so that more people can enjoy Christmas songs. The Korea Music Copyright Association (KMCA) is also providing 22 popular carols for free on its website.
The culture ministry, meanwhile, stressed that it is not supporting a specific religion.
According to the 2015 census, 56.1 percent of Koreans are nonreligious. Among the 21.55 million people who do prescribe to given religions here, Protestants topped the list with 9.68 million, followed by Buddhists at 7.62 million and Catholics at 3.89 million.
