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Korean monk’s environmental quest

Jiyul, a South Korean Buddhist monk, waged a years-long battle against a government plan to drill a tunnel through the mountain on which her monastery sits. "I was naive," she says. "I had been in isolation for so long, I didn’t even know there were cellphones and computers."

Jiyul, a South Korean Buddhist monk, waged a years-long battle against a government plan to drill a tunnel through the mountain on which her monastery sits. “I was naive,” she says. “I had been in isolation for so long, I didn’t even know there were cellphones and computers.”  (Kang Byung-doo / For The Times)

River

Jiyul takes a photo of the Nakdong River in central South Korea. She intends to document the wildlife along the river in hopes of stopping a government project to create a shipping canal.  (Kang Byung-doo / For The Times)

Monk

Jiyul makes coffee for visitors.  (Kang Byung-doo / For The Times)

Monk

Jiyul chats with the owner of a small inn where she stayed for free during part of her river pilgrimage.  (John M. Glionna / Los Angeles Times)

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Water

Though some consider Jiyul an environmental hero, she has also become an outcast, even among fellow monks. “She is a polarizing figure,” says Cho Eun-su, an associate professor of philosophy at Seoul National University. “Some people call her stubborn; others see her as a pioneer. But whether seen as positive or negative, her work has brought change.”  (Kang Byung-doo / For The Times)

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