Korean prez asked to correct Buddha’s birthplace

Posted by Ram Kumar Shrestha on December 21, 2011

SEOUL, DEC 21 -

Nepal’s Ambassador to South Korea Kamal Prasad Koirala has written a letter to the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak requesting him to change the erroneous information in the South Korean textbooks regarding the birth of Lord Buddha.

The four-page-long letter states that Lord Buddha was born in Lumbini and that Lumbini is a part of Nepal. The letter further states that when India was under the British rule, some British writers had written that Buddha was born in India and this is still believed true in many parts of the world.

Koirala also said that the General Secretary of United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has shown keen interest in development of Lumbini, as it is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. He also stated that even the British Museum has changed the birthplace of Lord Buddha as Nepal on Nov 7.

Koirala has put for`th his belief that Lee would heed to the plea.

Koirala has also forwarded a copy of the letter to Lee Sang-ki, an establishing member of the Asia Journalist Association and the publisher of The Asian. Praising Koirala’s attempt, journalist Lee said that the South Korean government would definitely heed to it.

A South Korean primary level book, ‘Ethics Part One’, states that Lord Buddha was born in Khapila Castle in India. Similarly, another secondary level book, ‘World History’, states that Lord Buddha was born in a Royal Brahmin family and his birthplace has been stated as India.