Masan Ji-hye's Sea of Wisdom "Religious Groups Cannot Make Reservations" ... Obtain Permission from the Provincial Office of Education

Church Officials Raise Voices Saying "This Is Religious Persecution"

"Religious groups cannot make reservations. Please bring an official document from the Provincial Office of Education."

A church official in Masanhappo-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, received a baffling phone call from the person in charge at the Masan Jihyeuibada Library under the Gyeongnam Provincial Office of Education.

Interior view of Masan Jihaeui Bada in Gyeongnam. [Image provided by Gyeongnam Office of Education]

The call stated that religious personnel cannot use the library as a group.

This church, affiliated with a sound denomination, planned to invite 22 local teachers from the Philippines to tour the Masan Jihyeuibada Library to introduce Korea's advanced libraries.

The church official contacted the library on the 10th to ask if a reservation for 22 Filipino teachers on the 24th was possible, and the library staff said it was available.

To confirm the schedule, they contacted the library again, but the person in charge was on vacation and said they would get back after returning to work, so they waited. However, even after a week, there was no contact. Unable to wait any longer, they called the library again.

The library official said, "According to internal regulations, religious groups cannot make reservations," and added, "If you want to come as individuals, you may."

According to the official, religious groups are not allowed to tour the library.

This contradicts the library's explanation that it aims to be "an urban living room where anyone can comfortably read books."

The church official sighed, saying, "It feels like the sky is falling," and "What should we do when there is no contact and then suddenly this happens?" They raised their voice, saying, "This is religious persecution."

Director Park Young-sook firmly stated, "We apologize for the delayed response, but reservations are not allowed for religious groups."

Meanwhile, the Masan Jihyeuibada Library was transformed in 2018 by remodeling a closed school gymnasium (multipurpose auditorium) in the old downtown area into a complex reading and cultural space where reading, culture, and arts coexist, becoming a new reading culture hub and a landmark of education in Changwon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.