A South Korean DJ dressed as a monk and broadcasting Buddhist texts will not be able to mix his music as usual in Singapore, the city-state’s interior minister said on Wednesday. Shaved head and long white monk’s robe, comedian-turned-musician Youn Sung-ho, who performs under the name NewJeansNim, has helped give a facelift to Buddhism in South Korea, even if his performances have made waves elsewhere, notably in Malaysia.
The DJ-monk is due to DJ at a Singapore nightclub on June 19 and 20, where laws restrict speech or actions considered detrimental to religious harmony. For her performance to take place, she must not include any religious sign, neither in her outfit, nor in her movements, nor in her words. The DJ will therefore have to give up his usual monastic outfit and the elements of Buddhist prayers that he sometimes integrates into his performances.
Although the Buddhist Federation of Singapore previously called for NewJeansNim’s set to be cancelled, Singaporean news channel Channel News Asia announced that it would go ahead as long as the nightclub and the DJ agreed to comply with the stipulated conditions.
“Police told the nightclub owners that action would be taken if the show went ahead. They understood our position and agreed to cooperate,” explained K. Shanmugam, Minister of the Interior, on his Facebook page. “This news came on Vesak day, an unfortunate coincidence. But the Buddhist community (like other communities) knows that the government will take firm action against such things,” he added, referring to this sacred Buddhist festival.
The Minister of Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister of Justice, Edwin Tong, justified this choice as follows: “We live in a multiracial, multireligious and multicultural society, we respect each other. others and we are taking measures to protect our social cohesion.” The owner of the nightclub, for his part, recalled that “Club Rich respects all religions” and assured “that the show turns out to be a non-religious show.”
The DJ performed earlier this month in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country with a large Buddhist minority. But a second concert planned for later in May was canceled after local Buddhists, saying they were offended by his first concert, filed a complaint with the police. Footage of the DJ’s eccentric and high-energy performances quickly went viral. In South Korea, the president of the Jogye Order, which represents traditional Buddhism in the country, encourages NewJeansNim, considering that the DJ can attract new followers.