Buddhists gather in Seoul to pray for reconciliation

Buddhist leaders from around the world will gather in Korea this weekend to pray for the reconciliation of Seoul and Pyongyang, as both sides of the peninsula mark the 70th anniversary of liberation from Japan’s1910-45 colonial rule.

The Conference for World Peace and the Reunification of Korea will be held on Saturday and Sunday. About 200 Buddhist leaders from across the globe will take part, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism announced on May 8.

Attendees will include the Most Venerable Jinje, Supreme Patriarch of the Jogye Order, and the Supreme Patriarch (Sangharaja) of Cambodia.

The conference will begin with Buddhist leaders paying tribute at Seoul National Cemetery Saturday morning. The Religious Conference for World Peace will then be held at the Grand Hilton Hotel, followed by the Great Equal Assembly of Ganhwa Seon in Gwanghwamun, which organizers say is the event’s highlight.

“[The assembly at Gwanghwamun] is expected to be attended by about 200,000 people,” the Buddhist order said in a press release.

BY KIM HYUNG-EUN [hkim@joongang.co.kr]