Wild Korea Stories 2: Bulguksa Temple's Juicy Monk Gambling Scandal

As someone who's always chasing authentic experiences in Korea, I recently revisited Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju. A stunning UNESCO site and a must-see for any trip here.

While browsing I stumbled on an old documentary from MBC PD수첩 about a hilarious scandal in 2013-2018.

It came to light when former deputy abbot Monk Jangju self-surrendered to prosecutors in 2013, confessing his own sins and dropping bombs on high-ranking monks. He claimed that room 33 in the restricted Jeonghye-ryeo monks' quarters was secretly turned into a full-on gambling den.

Jangju spilled that he and about 10 top monks were regulars. "At the time, if you add up all the expenses such as activity fees, basic salary, and public offerings, the monthly income was around 50 million won,". The gambling was funded by temple funds & donations.

Overseas "training seminars" that were actually gamble trips. "With this money, I traveled to all the countries that operated gambling, including Las Vegas and Macau."

Devotees protested, demanding reforms, while the temple and order denied everything and dodged interviews. The case was eventually dismissed without prosecution. Monk Jangju was excommunicated from the Buddhist community.