Church stay for Koristians

By Kim Heung-sook

Anyone reading the above headline may be tempted to Google for ``church stay” while suspecting typographical error of ``Koristians.” Googling it would be a waste of time, for there will be no reference to those terms in the entire Google.com, including my favorite Wikipedia, except for some Korean-language sites.

``Church stay” is in its nascent stage and it needs to be seen what it actually turns out to be. Still, it would be safe to say that it is the Christian version of ``temple stay,” the brief sojourn of Buddhists and non-believers in the daily routine of monks to achieve eternal freedom.

Koristian is a term my genius friend created by coining Korean and Christian. He is a native Korean from a Christian family. Well versed in Korea and Christianity, he says that Korean Christianity is so different from Christianity elsewhere that its followers deserve to get a special name of Koristian. It refers to Korean Protestants because Christianity means Protestantism in Korea. Catholicism is separately termed ``cheonju-gyo.”

To talk about church stay, first we have to understand its prototype the temple stay. Both Buddhists and non-believers could stay in Buddhist temples since the olden times. The temporary dwellers were truth seeking laymen, patients whose illnesses couldn’t be cured by medicine and people who wanted to concentrate on self-reflection or certain projects, such as writers working on novels.

As the number of foreigners visiting and residing in Korea increased, so did foreign visitors to Korean temples, particularly those in mountains and countryside. In 2002 when Korea co-hosted the World Cup with Japan, Buddhist temples emerged as popular places for sightseeing and a real-life experience of Korean ways for foreigners.

The government then offered the Buddhist community to expand temple stays as part of the nation’s cultural and tourist attractions, providing financial support. Temple stays have attracted more than a few foreigners and Koreans over the past several years.

Circumstances changed after President Lee Myung-bak, a presbyter at Somang Presbyterian Church in southern Seoul, took office in 2008. His policies and measures have been viewed as too Koristian-friendly. He has been also blamed for surrounding himself with ``Ko-So-Yeong” coteries. ``Ko” stands for Korea University, Lee’s alma mater; ``So,” Somang Church; ``Yeong,” Yeongnam region comprising of the Gyeongsang provinces, his powerbase.

In the latest and worst case of what Buddhists believe is belittling their credo, the government markedly cut the budget for temple stay and protection of cultural assets in temples in the 2011 budget. In the budget bill railroaded through the National Assembly by the government party in December, 12.25 billion won was earmarked for temple stay compared to 18.5 billion won of last year. Buddhist leaders have affirmed that they won’t accept any government money for temple stay.

While conflict between the government and Buddhists was intensifying, a senior pastor running for the chairmanship of the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), a powerful federation of conservative Protestant orders and organizations, added fuel to the fire by saying that he was discussing government support of 50 billion to 60 billion won for church stay with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Kiel Ja-yeon was elected CCK Chairman for the third time on Jan. 20. He served in that position in 2003 and 2004. After being elected and situation was further inflamed by his remarks, the 70-year-old pastor of Wangsung Church in southwestern Seoul denied his earlier statement, while reaffirming that he would go through with “church stay.”

The creativity or copycat capability of Kiel and his supporters to launch probably the first church stay programs in the world may be commendable, yet I have reservations about their plans, my fundamental question being if church stay is something as urgent as they think. Anyone recognizing the seriousness of religious conflict in Korea today may share my concern.

If I were a Koristian leader, I wouldn’t start any new projects that may disturb other religious groups. Instead, I would try to reform my own church and order. I would stop gathering tithe and the numerous kinds of ``heon-geum” or money donations from the faithful. I would encourage my congregation to pray in silence instead of singing hymns on the grounds of temples. My sermons would be focused on how to live like Jesus and not on how to become rich and successful. I would keep the doors of churches open 24 hours a day so that anyone could ``stay” when in need. Last but not least, I would demand the government give us pastors the right to pay taxes for the huge sum of church income.