Dalai Lama wins prestigious Korean award

The Korea Times reported this morning that the Dalai Lama has been named recipient of the Manhae Grand Prize for Peace, a prestigious award named after a Korean Buddhist monk and poet, Han Yong-woon. According to the report, the award ceremony will be held on August 12th in Korea, in the province of Gangwon. The South Korean government has stated that it will not issue a visa to allow His Holiness into the country, citing concerns over the possible reaction of the Chinese government. The organization handling the award released a statement saying that the Dalai Lama had been informed of his nomination for the award, and had accepted.

Read the entire article at the Korea Times web site.
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UPDATE MAY 26, 2005 (9:13am)
In a follow up story, the Korea Times this morning reported that representatives of the Dalai Lama are in talks with the Korean government, and that His Holiness may visit Seoul this summer to accept the Manhae Grand Prize for Peace award. The head of the Buddhist Solidarity for Reform was quoted as having said, "As his visits are purely for religious reasons and have nothing to do with politics, the government is expected to, this time, allow him in."

Read the entire article at the Korea Times web site.