봉사단체 만남 속았다!

외국인들 “봉사단체 만남에 속았다”

강원도의 한 중학교에서 영어교사로 일하고 있는 캐나다인 잭 다우니(27)는 봉사단체 ‘만남’이 종교단체인‘신천지’와의 관계를 숨기고 외국인들에게 접근했다고 비판했다.

자신의 블로그에 만남-신천지 관계에 대한 글들을 여러 차례 올린 바 있는 그는 “지난 6월 강릉 단오제에서 만남 사람들을 처음 만났다. 그들은 외국인들을 찾아 다니면서 서울에서 열리는 자선 콘서트에 초대했다”며 “그들이 하는 말을 들으면서 좋은 단체라 생각했다. 그 때는 의심할 이유가 없었기 때문”이라고 밝혔다.

그러다 지난 8월, 그는 만남이 신천지 단체라는 CBS 보도내용을 보게 됐고, 자신도 이에 대해 나름대로의 조사를 해보겠다고 마음 먹었다고 한다. 신천지의 이만희 총회장이 만남의 명예회장이라는 것도 알게 됐다.

그는 “만남이 신천지와의 관계를 숨겨 왔다는 것을 알고 난 후 많은 사람들이 상처를 받았다. 모두들 좋은 마음으로 참여했던 것인데 결국 그것이 종교 단체를 키우기 위함이라는 생각이 들었기 때문”이라 말했다.

한국에 살고 있는 미국인 마이클 아론슨(29)도 만남 관계자들을 만난 적이 있다. 그에게 ‘월드 피스 페스티벌(World Peace Festival)’에서 음악을 연주할 생각이 있는지 물었다고 한다. 그는 “십만 명 정도가 그 행사에 참여한다고 했다. 처음에는 매우 좋은 기회라는 생각이 들었다”면서 “하지만 신천지 행사가 같은 날, 같은 시간, 같은 장소에서 열린 다는 광고를 보게 됐고, 굉장히 기분이 안 좋았다”고 밝혔다. 행사는 신천지와 만남이 모두 참여한 가운데 9월16일 서울 잠실 올림픽주경기장에서 열렸다.

한편, 만남 운영진은 “만남에서 일하는 사람들 중에는 무교도 있고, 다른 종교를 믿는 사람도 많다. 몇몇 사람들이 신천지에만 집중하는 것이 안타깝다”면서 “그 행사에는 스님들도 오셨고, 이슬람 리더들도 오셨다. 왜 이들에 대한 언급은 없는가?”라 반박했다.

그는 “누군가 상처 받은 사람들이 있다면 나 역시 안타깝다. 하지만 신천지에 대해 비판적인 언론 보도가 있었다고 해서 만남까지 같이 비판하는 건 좀 그렇다고 생각한다”면서 “신천지와 만남은 모두 어려운 사람들을 돕는 좋은 일을 하는 단체”라 밝혔다.

이들은 CBS 보도 직후에도 보도자료를 통해 “만남과 신천지는 법적으로 전혀 다른 단체지만 많은 이들이 평화라는 목표를 위해 함께 일하고 있다”고 밝힌 바 있다.

만남 웹사이트에 따르면 한국 54개 지사와 뉴욕 등 해외지사에서 회원 7만 명이 활동하고 있다.
 
jjh@koreatimes.co.kr 
 
Zackary Downey, center, poses with two Mannam volunteers during a Dano Festival in Gangneung, Gangwon Province in June. / Courtesy of Downey

By Jun Ji-hye

A Canadian living in Korea has criticized a volunteer organization for deceiving expats here by hiding its alleged connection with a controversial church to bring them to the religious institution.

Zackary Downey, a middle school English teacher in Gangwon Province, has conducted his own investigation of Mannam Volunteer Association’s (MVA) connections to Shinchonji, a church founded in 1984, on his blog Scroozle’s Sanctuary. MVA is known for offering free language and cooking classes to foreigners and inviting them to participate in charity activities.

“I first met Mannam members during the Dano Festival in June. They were going around looking for foreigners to sign cards and attend a charity concert in Seoul,” the 27-year-old said in an interview with The Korea Times. “They made their organization sound really good. I accepted what they told me because I had no reason to doubt at that time.”

Then he saw a news report released by the Christian Broadcasting Station (CBS) in August, claiming that the organization is a front for Shinchonji. The church was once a topic of MBC’s “PD Notebook” in 2007 that accused it of being fraudulent.

“The report prompted me to do my own investigation and I wrote my findings in my blog, including that Lee Man-hee, the leader and founder of Shinchonji, is an honorary chairman of MVA,” he said.

“Many people were hurt when discovering Mannam has been hiding the Shinchonji connection because they gave their time in good faith, only to see it used to promote a religious group.”

Michael Aronson, a 29-year-old American living in Korea, was asked by Mannam members if he was interested in performing live at the World Peace Festival that was described as a sporting and cultural event to achieve world peace.

“They said over 100,000 would be in attendance. I thought it was a great opportunity and didn't question their motives,” he said. “But I found an advertisement for Shinchonji's 6th Olympiad which said it happens on the same day, same time and same place as the festival. This bothered me a lot.”

The festival was held on Sept. 16 at the Seoul Olympic Stadium along with the quadrennial Shinchonji Olympiad. The World Peace Initiative (WPI), which was, according to its website, launched for world peace, also participated.

Staff working for Mannam claimed that it has no religious connection.

“We accept all religions, including Shinchonji. Among our members, there are those who believe in different religions as well as those who don’t have any religion. It is regrettable that some people just focus on Shinchonji,” she told The Korea Times over the phone.

She went on to say, “Buddhist monks and Islamic leaders also participated in the festival. But there are no comments about them,” she said. “I am sorry if some members feel hurt but it is unfair to criticize Mannam simply because there have been some negative news reports about Shinchonji.”

When mentioning “PD Notebook,” she responded “As far as I know, the program aired misinformation. If the report was found to be true, Mannam wouldn’t have worked together with them. All of us are doing good works to help people.”

Lisa Baik, MVA international division coordinator said in a statement released after CBS’s report, “Shinchonji, MVA, and WPI are legally separated bodies with different constitutions and memberships but many members are working together for the same goal for peace.”

Baik denied allegations that they intend to recruit people to Shinchonji.

Mannam has 54 branches in Korea and some overseas including in New York. It has over 70,000 members around the world, according to its website.

Shinchonji founder Lee claims that Jesus visited him and gave the book of Revelations.