Source: International Christian Concern, December 8, 2021
A Buddhist association in South Korea is upset about Seoul’s decision to subsidize the playing of Christmas songs in the coming weeks. It is filing a lawsuit to prevent the government from using its budget for the carol campaign.
Copyright laws have been enforced in South Korea to the extent that Christmas songs are disappearing during the festive months. In response, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism recently allocated 1 billion won (US$850,000) to encourage commercial radio stations and public spaces—including shopping malls, cafes, and restaurants—to play the Christmas tunes in the next few weeks.
The state-sponsored program is not well received by everyone. [On December 2] the Association of Korean Buddhist Orders announced its decision to sue the government.
The statement reads, “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.”
The Buddhist group added that “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.”
The ministry has responded to the complaint by saying that it did not favor any religion but rather seeks to promote festive spirit towards the end of the year.
By the way, could you or your church use some global advent songs? Paul Neeley of Global Christian Worship made a great YouTube playlist. Languages include French, Yoruba, English, Arabic, Irish Gaeilge, Huron, Norwegian, Nepali, German, Hindi, Thai, Italian, Urdu, Spanish, Pangasinan (from the Philippines), Zulu, Korean, and Swahili.