S. Korea approves Buddhist monk's trip to N. Korea for restoration of temple

By Park Sae-jin Posted : May 31, 2018, 17:19 Updated : May 31, 2018, 17:19

[Yonhap Photo]



SEOUL --  A South Korean Buddhist monk will become the first civil personnel to mark the start of inter-Korean personnel exchanges that would resume under a historic summit in April.

The Ministry of Unification said Thursday that it would allow a monk, who uses his Buddhist name Cheondam, to visit North Korea next month. The green light came amid a rapidly evolving mood of inter-Korean reconciliation after two historical inter-Korean summits which took place on April 27 and May 26.

Cheondam is a senior official of the World Peace Foundation, a Seoul-based civic group. The ministry said that at the invitation of North Korean Buddhists, he would visit Pyongyang via China for a five-day trip from June 2 to discuss the restoration of a temple in Mount Kumgang, a famous tourist destination just north of the border. 

Kumgang used to have a number of old temples in its mountain chains but many of them burned down to the ground during the 1950-53 Korean War.
 
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기