Tulsa Yoga Meditation Center, 5319 S. Sheridan, Tulsa, OK 74145
  • HOME
  • TEACHERS
  • Blog
  • PRIVATE INSTRUCTION
  • REIKI

KOREAN 'FOREST GUMP' IS A BUDDHIST MONK WHO RUNS CHARITY MARATHONS FOR VIETNAM

9/23/2018

 
Buddhist monk Ven. Jino is sorry for the atrocities South Korean soldiers committed against Vietnamese civilians during the Vietnam War. South Korea sent about 320,000 soldiers to the war, the second-most following the United States. Some murdered and raped civilians and destroyed their houses.

The U.S. government paid the soldiers $236 million in appreciation of their "efforts," which also included neutralizing part of the Viet Cong presence in southern Vietnam.  More than 40 years after the war's end in 1975, a very different picture reflecting the bilateral relation can be seen across Korea. Instead of the Korean infantry divisions and Marine Corps dispatched to Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country's men and women, with non-professional working visas in hand, have moved to Seoul to escape poverty.

Ven. Jino, as one with remorse for his own country that didn't hold back from slaughtering innocent people for the good of its biggest ally, feels touched whenever he sees Vietnamese migrant workers in hardship. 
"If I didn't commit to running and only had words coming out of my mouth to promote my charity mission, that wouldn't have impressed donors," said Ven. Jino, whose soul-searching cause prompts images of Hollywood masterpiece "Forest Gump."

Between 1965 and 1973, 312,853 South Korean soldiers fought in the Vietnam War. According to domestic sources, Korean infantry and marines killed an estimated 41,400 North Vietnamese Army soldiers and some 5,000 civilians. Approximately 5,000 South Korean soldiers were killed in the conflict, with many others returning home injured and with ailments caused by exposure to defoliant chemicals such as Agent Orange.

To manifest his efforts, Ven. Jino has been working in cooperation with Making Dreams Come True, a private organization based in the city of Gumi, in North Gyeongsang Province, which provides support for migrant workers in South Korea. But in order to achieve his objectives, Ven Jino has had to go the extra mile—literally, by running charity marathons as a demonstration of his sincerity.

Collecting pledges of 100 Korean won (US$0.09) for each kilometer run, Ven. Jino’s accomplishments include covering 300 kilometers in Ecuador and 300 kilometers from Kathmandu to Lumbini in Nepal in 2016, 330 kilometers from Angkor Wat to Phnom Penh in Cambodia in 2017, and 330 kilometers from Kandy to Matara in Sri Lanka in 2018. 
His longest record to date took place in Vietnam from 2015–16, where he covered some 2,200 kilometers in two runs from Cao Bang Province to Da Nang, and from Ca Mau to Da Nang.


(source: Korean Times and Buddhist Door)

Comments are closed.

    Victor M. Parachin ...is a

    Vedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. 

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly