Ajit Karn
From February 9 to April 3, 108 Buddhist pilgrims from South Korea will spend 43 days visiting Buddhist holy sites in India and Nepal. The Sangwol Society of South Korea is putting on the walking pilgrimage, which will cover more than 1,100 km and take tourists to some of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar before moving on to Nepal.
The tour will end on March 23, and stops will be made at Bodh Gaya, Nalanda University, the Buddha’s Relic Stupa Site in Vaishali, the Mahaparinirvana Temple and Ramabhar Stupa in Kushinagar, and the birthplace of the Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal.
The Ambassador of South Korea to India, Chang Jae-bok, said that Buddhism is a special link between India and Korea. The ambassador told the press that “Buddhism came to Korea from India in the first century, and it eventually became the country’s official religion. This year, we celebrate the fact that India and South Korea now have diplomatic ties. With India holding the G20 presidency, we have a lot to do to make sure it goes well.”
Chang also said that Korea is a leader in soft power, and he is happy to see that young people in India are becoming more interested in Korean culture, K-pop, and K-dramas. “We want to strengthen the ties between our two peoples this year through these pilgrims and other cultural events,” he said. People see the pilgrimage as a sign of how spiritually connected the people of India and Korea are and how much they want to learn from each other and share their cultures.
The ambassador also confirmed that his foreign minister, Park Jin, will go to India next month to go to Delhi for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers. He said, “Our Foreign Minister will be there for the G20 meeting on March 1 and 2.”
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India is in charge of the mega economic grouping, and in September of this year, the summit will be held in India. The ambassador was also sure that India could do a good job leading the G20. He said, “We hope that India’s presidency of the G20 will go well all year. We are very happy that India is leading the G20, and we hope that it does a great job.”
