Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Korea's largest church group protests 'attack on Christianity' at Paris Olympics
Men hold pictures of a scene that took place during the Paris Olympic opening ceremony that parodied Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous "The Last Supper" painting during a protest near the French Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, Sunday. The United Christian Churches of Korea (UCCK), the largest coalition of Protestant churches here, joined global protests on Monday against the opening ceremony segment that it calls "attack on Christiantiy." AP-Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
The United Christian Churches of Korea (UCCK), the largest coalition of Protestant churches in Korea, has joined international protests against the segment of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday that parodied Leonardo da Vinci’s famous painting, The Last Supper.
The segment recreated the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a last meal before crucifixion, but with a group of drag queens, a transgender model and a naked singer made up as the Greek god of wine, Dionysus.
In a statement sent to The Korea Times, Monday, the association expressed its “anger and disappointment” over what it called “an attack” on Christianity and other religious faiths.
“The opening ceremony insulted the Olympic spirit by causing dispute through its attacks on many religions and ideologies different from its (show creators’) own,” the group said. “The art director of the ceremony claimed that it was a performance supposed to promote an inclusive world. But it rather exposed today’s vulgarism and precariousness, promoted by liberals in France, by violating the spirit of tolerance.”
The group claimed that the segment was an attempt to exclude Christians and others with religious beliefs, rather than a genuine effort to be inclusive.
“The organizing committee must not justify its act on grounds of freedom of expression, for the sake of the future of the Olympics,” it added.
This comes as many religious figures, politicians and celebrities in other countries have raised their voices to denounce the organizers of the Games, including the Catholic church of France.
“This ceremony has unfortunately included scenes of derision and mockery of Christianity, which we very deeply deplore,” the Conference of French bishops said in a statement.
Tesla founder Elon Musk also criticized the display, saying, “This was extremely disrespectful to Christians.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also joined the chorus, calling it a symbol of Western decline.
Such voices and potential actions by Olympic sponsors forced the organizing committee to apologize.
“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think (with artistic director) Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance,” spokesperson Anne Descamps said at Sunday’s press conference. “Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense we are, of course, really, really sorry.”