NewJeansNim’s Controversial Popularity: New Progress in Buddhism?

“This too shall pass,” the disc jockey chants repeatedly in Korean as the beat gathers momentum. In his monk robes and shaved head, he yells, “If you overcome the pain, rebirth in paradise!” Getting their cue from the electronic dance music, his audience jump and scream in tandem. The DJ, who has been christened “NewJeansNim” (뉴진스님) by a senior monk in Korea, is not an ordained monk. Therein lies the controversy: while his Buddhism-suffused performances have been received with little protest in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, his performances in Singapore and Malaysia have been prohibited, given concerns about social and religious harmony.

The performance was at the annual Lotus Lantern Festival (연등회) in Seoul, a religious national festival designated to celebrate the Buddha’s birthday in May. Armed with Buddhist quotes, instruments and life advice, NewJeansNim is a Buddhist devotee but not a monk. His real name is Youn Sung Ho (윤성호), and he is a veteran comedian and DJ. He is recognisable in Korea for his skits and performances as “Bbakoo” (빡구).

NewJeansNim only started a year ago as an alter ego of Youn, with the moniker “IlJinNim” (일진스님) – a combination of “One Progress” (일진) and “SungNim” (스님), a term of respect for monks in Korea. The “IlJinNim” moniker underscores a desire to “move forward each day” with positivity. His subsequent name change to NewJeansNim was bestowed by a senior monk from the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the leading order of Buddhism in Korea. His new name was a pun on the popular girl group NewJeans and underscored a nod of approval from the Jogye Order for his work in “newly” promoting Buddhism among youths. Due to his popularity, the International Buddhism Expo in Seoul reportedly saw a three-fold increase in attendees in their 20s to 30s. From the Jogye Order’s perspective, NewJeansNim was making Buddhism great again.

Subsequently, NewJeansNim hosted sets in Hongkong, Taiwan and Macau, with no reported discontent from resident Buddhist communities. Notably, he has not announced any sets in other Southeast Asian states, including Thailand, where Buddhism is widespread. Soon after, he announced sets in Malaysia and Singapore. This is where the positive response halted. In Malaysia, lawmaker Wee Ka Siong, the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM) and the leading Buddhist organisation Fo Guang Shan opposed the staging of his performances. YBAM noted that it is “inappropriate for the impersonation of the Sangha members […] in entertainment venues”.

In Singapore, the Singapore Buddhist Federation (SBF) called for a ban on his performances, stating that Youn is “not a monk”. While NewJeansNim performed in Malaysia on 3 May 2024, his remaining performance a day before Vesak Day was cancelled by a nightclub in Kuala Lumpur, citing concerns about “social harmony”. Although his scheduled sets on 19 and 20 June 2024 in Singapore were given the green light, Singaporean authorities subsequently issued an advisory that his performances must not include any religious elements and references. Singapore’s Minister of Home Affairs and Law K. Shanmugam spoke out about the event, calling it “offensive to [the local] Buddhist community”. As NewJeansNim’s performance was unprecedented, the government was keen to prevent disharmony. This is in line with the government’s consideration of religious authorities’ perspectives on sensitive issues.  

His new name was a pun on the popular girl group NewJeans and underscored a nod of approval from the Jogye Order towards his work in “newly” promoting Buddhism among youths.

The opposition in Singapore and Malaysia indicates that Youn’s non-ordainment was an issue. While NewJeansNim may just be another character for Youn, especially since he is non-ordained, it may not have sat well with devotees who could have perceived his performances to be disrespectful. Granted, other modern Buddhist acts have been allowed to perform in the region, suggesting that innovation is permissible to a certain extent. Kanho Yakushiji, the Zen pop-rock musician, performed in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in October 2023 to no protests. That said, Yakushiji is an ordained monk and the abbot of the Kaizen Temple on Shikoku Island; Youn is not ordained. Another possible issue is NewJeanNim’s association with clubs. As Jack Chia has observed, clubs allow the consumption of alcohol which is forbidden in Buddhism.

Nevertheless, in contemporary Buddhist history, non-ordained influential figures exist. For instance, in contemporary Buddhist art there was Montein Boonma, who created contemporary Buddhist visual art to international acclaim. He was not an ordained monk. In Mahayana scripture, there is also Vimalakirti, the key figure of the Vimalakirti Sutra. An Upāsaka, or layman devotee, he was said to view “Buddha himself as his equal”, suggesting that enlightenment is not bound to ordainment. Significantly, there are some parallels between Youn and Vimalakirti. In the Vimalakirti Sutra, Vimalakirti ventured to places forbidden by Buddhism, such as brothels and cabarets, to spread the religion. Similarly, holding Buddhist concerts in venues such as clubs might seem taboo at first glance, but may be prime locations for proselytisation. These examples stand in contrast to the current reaction towards NewJeansNim, suggesting possible conservatism within Buddhism in Singapore and Malaysia that should be studied further.

Back in Singapore, the club initially agreed to abide by the advisory, stating that his show would continue without Buddhist elements. However, a week later, the club announced the show’s cancellation due to Youn’s insistence of performing two songs including Buddhist scriptures. As the disagreement was the content of the songs, it can be inferred that Youn could have been receptive to performing without the monk robes, removing the element of impersonation in his performance. In fact, when Youn first started out as “IljinNim”, he performed using the traditional Korean hanbok instead of robes. His insistence on the two songs could then be an expression of his serious intent in promoting Buddhism, echoing his initial days when he reportedly consulted Buddhist leaders in conceptualising “NewJeansNim”. 

Given these controversies, there are three possible directions that Youn could take. Firstly, once the character loses popularity, he would abandon the pursuit. Secondly, he may choose to be ordained to assert the seriousness of his intent in promoting Buddhism. Finally, the status quo might remain, where he is non-ordained and continues to spread Buddhism through his music. Among the three, it is likely that Youn will persist with the status quo due to the continued receptiveness to his work by other countries aside from Singapore and Malaysia. Ultimately, only time will tell how serious Youn is about NewJeansNim and Buddhism.

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