The “Running Monk” Ven. Jin-o (from Mahabuddha Temple in Gumi, Korea) is on the verge of successfully completing the “Cross-Country Fundraising Marathon in America,” which he resumed after four years. He has been raising funds through the Marathon to help multicultural immigrant workers and has been running a campaign to build 108 restrooms in rural Vietnamese schools for many years. During this long journey, he continued to raise awareness and funds for these causes.

In February 2020, Ven. Jin-o embarked on a 5,300km Marathon from LA to New York but had to stop after about 40 days due to the spread of COVID-19. Four years later, on May 23 this year, he returned to Boise City, Oklahoma, where he had paused his race. Over the past two months, he has run an average of 50km per day. He ran 1,941km in 2020 and has now completed the remaining 3,300km, achieving a total of 5,241 km.

Ven. Jin-o said, “When it became difficult to continue running due to the COVID-19 situation in 2020, I believed that stopping was also a courageous decision. I believed that the pandemic, which has hit the world hard, would eventually end and that I would resume the Cross-Country Fundraising Marathon. Now, standing on the brink of achieving my goal, I am overwhelmed with emotions. I believe all of this has been possible thanks to the support from everyone and the blessings of the Buddha.”

Since 1996, the Venerable has been living in Gumi. He was in charge of opening the Geumo Welfare Center and in 2000, he founded Gumi Bohyeon House, an organization helping immigrant workers and multicultural families. In 2008, he established Dream Achievers, which supports foreign workers, multicultural single-parent families, and North Korean defectors. Known as the “Running Monk” and “Marathon Monk,” he has completed fundraising Marathons in South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Nepal, and other countries to help marginalized communities.