Cambodian Buddhist Center in Korea
The Cambodian Buddhist Center in Korea (មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនាខ្មែរ) is a Khmer Buddhist center and Wat in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.[1][2] In 2020 it served Cambodian migrants from across the country as a place of worship and support.[1]
History
The center's founder, the Venerable Rin Saro, arrived in South Korea on April 14, 2006, the day of Khmer New Year, to study at Dongguk University.[2][1] In February 2007 a group of Cambodian migrant workers asked him to lead services in the Khmer way. The first was held that April at Doseon-sa, the Korean temple where he was staying, and word of the services spread quickly.[1]
In February 2008 the workers agreed to set up a Buddhist center of their own and began collecting donations. They rented a basement room in a commercial building in Gunpo, where the first service was held in May 2008[1] or on June 26, 2008.[2] The basement proved difficult, and after about a year the center moved to new rented rooms.[2] As of January 2020 it occupied the third floor of a building on Geumsan-ro in Gunpo.[1] In 2020 the center also used the name Wat Khmer Korea Khemararam (វត្តខ្មែរកូរ៉េខេមរារាម).[2]
Religious life
As of 2020 the center held services every Sunday. Thousands of migrant workers, marriage migrants and their children came for Khmer New Year in April, Pchum Ben in October and the Water Festival in November.[1] On April 12, 2015, the center and Jeonggak-sa, a Korean temple in Gunpo, held the sixth Khmer New Year festival at the Gunpo Indoor Gymnasium. About 1,500 people attended, and the program included the ritual bathing of the Buddha image.[3]
Community
As of 2020 the center also gave migrants in difficulty a place to stay, helped sick Cambodians with the cost of treatment and linked Cambodian community groups in other cities, among them Uijeongbu, Bucheon, Cheonan, Ansan and Gimpo. A lay committee with six working groups (finance, food, events, protocol, education and religious affairs) supported its running and services.[1] In December 2022 the Venerable Rin Saro was one of five people chosen for a Korean program supporting Buddhist activists.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Beopbo Shinmun, [새해 특집-다문화가 우리다] 군포 캄보디아 불교센터 (January 1, 2020)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Cambodian Buddhist Center in Korea, មជ្ឈមណ្ឌលព្រះពុទ្ធសាសនាខ្មែរ: 2020 (2020)
- ↑ Bulgyo Sinmun, [복지 지대방] 캄보디아불교이주민센터 外 (May 1, 2015)
- ↑ Hyunbul News, 올해 불교활동가 지원 린사로 스님 등 5명 선정 (December 1, 2022)