"There are over 2 million foreigners living in Korea, which is about 4 percent of the total population. By 2020, more than 3 million foreigners are expected to call Korea home. The expat community is a permanent part of Korean society contributing every day to its diversity and richness. But their voices are often not heard in public policy debates that impact their lives. I believe that it is time we should pay attention to what worries and doubts those expats have while living in the country," he said explaining the reason for his first English dialogue session with the foreign community in Korea.
His recent talk in the Memorial Hall of Korean Buddhist History and Culture in downtown Seoul, was fully booked with over 200 attendees from around the world. An extremely popular speaker and teacher, Ven. Pomnyun had more than 600,000 attend his "Hope" lecture tour from 2011 until 2014 across 436 locations within the country. In 2014, he visited 106 cities around the world in 114 days and delivered 115 talks to more than 20,000 people there including Koreans living overseas. This year more talks with expats are scheduled than with Korean audiences.