YouTube: DWS News
South Korea has debuted its first-ever humanoid robotic monk, which was officially initiated in a special ceremony ahead of the Buddha’s birthday.
‘Gabi’ the robot is taking social media by storm after participating in a Buddhist initiation ceremony at the Jogye Temple in Seoul, South Korea.
Standing at about 4 feet 2 inches, Gabi wore traditional ‘kasaya’ monk attire and pledged itself to practicing Buddhism in a ‘sugye’ ritual, where it clasped its palms together in prayer and bowed respectfully.
Gabi was given its name at the ceremony, which is the Korean word for ‘mercy.’ It also took part in the ‘yeonbi’ Buddhist ritual, a purification rite where novice monks’ arms are burned with incense.
South Korea's first humanoid robot monk made its debut at Jogye Temple in Seoul, ahead of Buddha's birthday. Gabi, the 130-centimeter-tall robot, wore a traditional grey-and-brown Buddhist robe and stood before monks as it pledged to devote itself to Buddhism pic.twitter.com/NDzDANRkhl
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 6, 2026
Gabi, however, was given a lotus lantern sticker on its arm, as well as a 108-bead prayer necklace as a substitute for the physical act.
Robot monk agrees to revised version of Buddhism’s Five Precepts
In the ceremony, Buddhist monks must agree to the Five Precepts: No killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no false speech, and no drinking / drug use.
For Gabi, the rules were changed. As a monk, the robot agreed to “protect life, refrain from damaging other robots or property, respecting and obeying humans, avoiding deceptive conduct, and conserving energy by not overcharging.”
Gabi’s initiation as a monk has predictably gone viral on multiple social media platforms, with gamers comparing the bot to Overwatch’s Zenyatta, a fictional robotic monk in the game.
Still others drew comparisons to 2023 sci-fi film ‘The Creator,’ which heavily features robotic monks dressed in traditional robes.
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Gabi was created by Chinese start-up Unitree Robotics, which has focused on the development, production and sales of high-performance quadruped robots since 2013.
This is the latest humanoid robot to go viral after the creator of ‘Roomba’ vacuums unveiled a cuddly robotic companion called ‘Familiar,’ which is designed to respond to human emotions as a pet-like companion.
