Interreligious greetings

In Andong, Confucian culture, shamanism, Buddhist temples, Catholic and Christian churches are mingled together. There is even a "religious town" where many denominations co-exist in the same area in the city. Among various religions and spiritualities, the Confucian spirit is deeply rooted throughout society here in Andong and the residents regard Andong as the capital of Korean spiritual culture. In Andong, there are about 53,000 Catholics in 40 churches, but only 17 percent of them are participating in Sunday Mass. On Christmas, the head monk of the local Buddhist temple sends a wreath with a celebratory message to Mokseong-dong Catholic Church, which displays the wreath from the temple near the virgin Mary statue on the second floor. On Buddha’s birthday in spring, the Catholic bishop also sends glad tidings to the temple. In this way, we give and receive joy on different religious feast days. Behind Bonghwa Village in Gimhae, there is a little mountain called Mount Bonghwa. Although it has only an elevation of 140 meters, we can see at a glance the Gimhae fields with rice paddies a