Opposition against the current administration's election manipulation scandal [1] grows stronger every day, even enough to inspire conservative Protestant Christian groups to join the protest movement [2] [ko] following the trails of Catholic leaders [3] and Buddhist monks [4]. On Christmas, this rare scene took place: in front of a Christmas tree which stood in the Jogye Buddhist temple, leaders from different religious groups held a joint prayer meeting/service lamenting the current political situation and denouncing the government bodies’ systemic interference [5] on the latest presidential election. South Korean net users in major online venues shared this running joke; President Park has achieved something that no other previous heads of the state were able to pull off– the ‘grand slam of unifying the three major religions [6]‘ [ko] (of South Korea) for a shared purpose.
부처님이 계신 조계사에 켜진 성탄트리 앞에서 철도노조지지와 노동탄압을 중단하라는 종교계 합동예배가 진행중이랍니다.대통합은 바로 이런것 입니다. pic.twitter.com/M3gafYIHXJ [7]
— 언론이 살아야 나라가 산다.(나친노) (@answer1219) December 25, 2013 [8]
In front of a Christmas tree, at the Jogye temple where the Buddha(‘s statues/relics) are kept, held a joint religious service demanding the government to halt clampdowns on railway workers and labor groups. This truly is a scene of ‘grand unification’.