Newjin Monk, “You have to be especially careful when traveling abroad”

Comedian Yoon Seong-ho's alt-character, Monk Newjin, is arranging Buddhist doctrines into EDM and performing actively at home and abroad. However, there are voices calling for careful action as the religious concepts are different.

Monk Newjin has recently been attracting attention both in the entertainment industry and in the religious world. Yoon Seong-ho, who was loved for his 'Pakgu' character by popularizing the catchphrase "Don't do it!" on KBS 2TV's 'Gag Concert', has been working with the character of a monk as a secondary character since last year. As the video of the event he participated in in commemoration of Buddha's Birthday last year gained great popularity, including reaching 10 million views on social media, he released the EDM genre digital single 'Buddha Hanseop' in July of last year and began focusing on his activities as a monk in earnest.

At first, he used his dharma name 'Iljin' and worked as 'Monk Iljin', but in November of last year, he ordained Monk Oh Sim as a preceptor at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul and took on the new dharma name 'Nyujin' (NEW 進), which means 'moving forward anew'. I accepted it and became Monk Newjin. It is also a name inspired by the girl group New Jeans, which is very popular among the MZ generation.

Through this, Monk Nujin became a regular guest at various Buddhist events. Monk Newjin appeared at the 'EDM Buddhist Sutra Remix DJ Networking Party' as a public relations ambassador at the '2024 Seoul International Buddhist Expo' held in April and communicated with Buddhist believers. The domestic Buddhist community is disapproving of Monk Nujin’s activities. This is the result of the hope that the religion called ‘Buddhism’ can be introduced to younger and more people. In fact, on the 30th of last month, Jinwoo, general secretary of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, met with Monk Nujin and expressed his gratitude and presented him with joint liquor and a DJ headset.

At a press conference held at the Korean Buddhist History and Culture Memorial Hall on the 9th, Jinwoo was asked about Monk Newjin and said, "There are many young people who see monks as too solemn, pious and heavy. I think there are a lot of young people who think that monks are too solemn, pious and heavy. I think there are a lot of young people who can reach out to young people and give them peace of mind. “It plays a leading role,” he said.

A story about Monk Newjin came out on the YouTube channel 'Tteuntteun' hosted by Yoo Jae-seok, which was released on the 11th. Comedian Jo Se-ho mentioned the status of Monk Newjin, who is receiving love calls from overseas as well, saying, “I was looking at social media and saw a performance by Monk Nujin at a famous club in China.” Broadcaster Ji Seok-jin said, "Actually, I thought there might be a religious problem, but I was invited to a religious event and he was DJing," and Yoo Jae-seok said, "The Buddhist community said, 'It will help popularize Buddhism and approach Buddhism in a friendly way,' so I invited Monk Newjin." “They actively supported it,” he said.

In contrast to Korea, where monk Newjin, whose main activity is EDM DJing, is evaluated favorably, some overseas countries expressed great displeasure toward monk Newjin and expressed criticism.

Representative Wi Ka Siong, a high-ranking Malaysian public official, recently posted a message on his social media, saying, "Monk Nujin's performance angered the Malaysian Buddhist community and created a false perception of Buddhist values and teachings." At the same time, he raised his voice, saying, "I appeal to the Minister of Home Affairs to order to block the entry of Korean DJs (Monk Nujin). This is to respect the sanctity of Buddhism and protect religious harmony in Malaysia."

On the same day, the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM) also urged the government to ban Monk Nujin from performing again in Malaysian clubs, saying, "It is inappropriate to imitate monks in entertainment venues." Accordingly, the performance scheduled at the Kuala Lumpur club on the 21st was cancelled. It has been reported that future performances scheduled are also being considered for cancellation.

The reason why domestic and foreign evaluations of Monk Newjin are extremely different is interpreted to be due to the social atmosphere in which religion is viewed. Malaysia, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country, has Islam as its state religion, but about 20% of the population is Buddhist. Religious solemnity dominates, and demands for conversion or insults to other religions are strictly prohibited.

Considering the Malaysian atmosphere, the concept of Monk Newjin wearing a monk's attire, jumping and DJing with his hands together may be offensive to some, and is likely to be criticized as an insult to the religion in question. As it combines the polarizing concepts of Buddhism and EDM performance, there are voices saying that we should keep in mind that there are people who may be offended by such performances.

After criticism of Monk Newjin's performance came out in Malaysia, Seongho Yoon released a short video of the enthusiastic cheers of the Malaysian audience along with the message "Monk Newjin! Malaysian performance! Local reaction" through his social media. Monk Newjin may have wanted to explain that the Malaysian people did not take offense to his performance and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, Monk Newjin must also keep in mind that this may be extremely unpleasant for Buddhist believers in a culture of religious solemnity.

In particular, I think that Monk Newjin should be particularly concerned and have a cautious attitude toward overseas Buddhist believers who do not have the same understanding or background as him. This may lead to a bad impression of Korea and damage our country's image.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr