Buddhists, Incheon airport fight lantern row

Lanterns shaped after Buddhist pagodas are on display at the Incheon International Airport on May 15, two days before Buddha’s Birthday. The airport originally declined to allow the decorations, only to flip-flop after Buddhist groups’ protest. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korea’s largest Buddhist order has called on the interim CEO of Incheon International Airport to resign, extending a conflict that erupted earlier this month over Buddha’s Birthday celebrations there.

The airport originally refused to allow the Jogye Order to decorate its terminals with lotus-shaped lanterns ― a tradition for Buddha’s Birthday that fell on May 17 ― but flip-flopped after Buddhist groups organized protests at its facilities.

The Jogye Order claims that the airport has been discriminating against Buddhists, pointing out that it had made no qualms about its halls decked in Christmas decorations in December.

The airport insists it was trying to be consistent in its policy about its facilities being religiously neutral and disallowing installments representing certain faiths. It said that the Christmas decorations were installed by duty free shops and other businesses intending to promote holiday sales, not at the request of Christian groups.

In calling for the resignation of Lee Young-geun, Incheon International Airport Corporation’s (IIAC) executive vice chairman currently doubling as its CEO, the Jogye Order attacked him for being “obnoxious and culturally illiterate.”

"The IIAC provided only unconvincing and unreasonable excuses to explain its refusal to allow the lotus lantern festival," the Jogye Order said.

"This absurd behavior points to the lack of understanding about Korea’s culture and tradition. We have doubts about whether the executive vice president of the IIAC is fully qualified to do his job or not … The airport has held its Christmas tree lightning events annually since 2007, and there are several allegations that it has charged the cost of the event to the duty free shops in the airport."

The IIAC claimed the accusations were false.

"We have never disrespected Buddhism. Several significant Buddhist art works are even displayed at the airport’s Museum of Korean Culture, located near the boarding area. We are contributing in promoting Korea’s traditional culture, which has an unmistakable Buddhist influence, to foreigners," said an IIAC spokesman.

The Lotus Lantern Festival has been considered the country’s oldest surviving cultural festival, dating back to the Silla Kingdom (B.C. 57-A.D. 935), when Buddhism was the state religion, and was designated as the country’s Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 122, last year.