Bodhisattva of unification: How one monk tried to bridge Koreas through Buddhism



Features Bodhisattva of unification: How one monk tried to bridge Koreas through Buddhism Venerable Popta traveled to North Korea hundreds of times to work with local monks, rejecting claims they are DPRK spies Roman Husarski April 1, 2024 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Venerable Popta in the mountains of southeastern South Korea \| Image: Roman Husarski In the mountains of southeastern South Korea, Venerable Popta lives a monastic life as the abbot of Eunhae Temple, meditating daily and receiving visitors at his traditional Korean home. But while he may not leave the hermitage much these days, this unsuspecting Buddhist monk has made more trips to North Korea than nearly any other outsider, visiting hundreds of times over the course of two decades. In the mountains of southeastern South Korea, Venerable Popta lives a monastic life as the abbot of Eunhae Temple, meditating daily and receiving visitors at his traditional Korean home. But while he may not leave the hermitage much these days, this unsuspecting Buddhist monk has made more trips to North Korea than nearly any other outsider, visiting hundreds of times over the course of two decades. Become a member for less than $5.75 per week. Unlimited access to all of NK News: reporting, investigations, analysis The NK News Daily Update, an email newsletter to keep you in the loop Searchable archive of all content, photo galleries, special columns Contact NK News reporters with tips or requests for reporting Get unlimited access to all NK News content, including original reporting, investigations, and analyses by our team of DPRK experts. Subscribe now All major cards accepted. No commitments – you can cancel any time. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by And how should we address you in correspondence? One more step! Please check your inbox, for an email we just sent you, and click on the confirmation message in it to get subscribed to our Daily News Update. Trending

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Bodhisattva of unification: How one monk tried to bridge Koreas through Buddhism

Venerable Popta traveled to North Korea hundreds of times to work with local monks, rejecting claims they are DPRK spies

Roman Husarski April 1, 2024

Bodhisattva of unification: How one monk tried to bridge Koreas through Buddhism

Venerable Popta in the mountains of southeastern South Korea | Image: Roman Husarski

In the mountains of southeastern South Korea, Venerable Popta lives a monastic life as the abbot of Eunhae Temple, meditating daily and receiving visitors at his traditional Korean home.

But while he may not leave the hermitage much these days, this unsuspecting Buddhist monk has made more trips to North Korea than nearly any other outsider, visiting hundreds of times over the course of two decades.

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