In a country where 70% of the land is covered by mountains, what comes first to your mind as a tourism development specialist? Hiking trails, adventure tourism, nature-based tourism, winter sports, etc ? Yes, but what if Korean moutains were not only natural assets but also cultural and even spriritual ones ?
Let me share a very interesting research paper about the subject, written in 2009 by my friend David A. Mason, Professor at the College of Hotel and Tourism Management of Kyung Hee University, Seoul.
I met David in November 2005, one month after having relocated to Korea. A few days later, I was following in his footsteps, Hiking Over Three Buddhas Peaks in Gyeryongsan National Park - Chungcheongnam-do (Province). Now I just realize how strong the similarities between that initiatic path and my own life's journey in Korea have been.
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| Hiking in Gyeryong-san with Prof. David Mason (2nd left) |
ABSTRACT
Sustainability, especially meaning low-carbon-footprint and ecologically-focused, is now the common and key watchword for all development planning in the Republic of Korea (hereinafter “South Korea”), by mandate of its current President Lee and a notable general public consensus. This applies to all contemporary tourism development projects, plans and future prospects. We are enjoined to envision a new paradigm for South Korea's tourism development, one of “green” environmentally-conscious and low-carbon “eco-tourism”, which makes use of the potential tourism attraction assets that the nation already possesses but has not sufficiently exploited.
This research paper therefore advocates a turn in national tourism policy towards both adventure-tourism in the form of hiking South Korea's beautiful mountains and religious-tourism in the form of Temple-Stay and other programs of visiting and experiencing this country’s vast and diverse wealth of sacred spiritual sites. We are indeed fortunate that these two types of tourism are easily combined together into one sustainable ecotourism package, as Korea's greatest Buddhist temples and other religious institutions are located within many of its best mountainous areas.
For the purposes of qualitative case-study focused-example of this suggested reorientation of tourism-development policy in South Korea, this paper focuses on the burgeoning emergence and early stages of development of the Baekdu-daegan long-distance hiking-trail, which is now emerging with potential to become a significant tourism destination-attraction, and its potential to be synergeticly combined with the existing Temple-Stay program. It argues that this combination could be an excellent new tourism attraction feature for the nation, while meeting the desired “green eco-tourism” standards now being set. It begins with a discussion of relevant religious and adventure tourism theory, and then proceeds with a brief overview of the history and characteristics of the Baekdu-daegan, the unbroken crest of a mountain range that runs the length of the Korean Peninsula, and the 735-km-long trail that now runs along it. It is very well-known to Koreans, having been revered as a symbol of national unity, identity and vital energy for more than 1100 years; however, it is virtually unknown to the rest of the world. Today it offers trekkers spectacular natural scenery featuring sweeping views; and for spiritually-oriented tourists, it is also uniquely rich with temples, shrines and monuments of four great Asian religious traditions: Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism and Shamanism. In this variety of different religions available to view and experience along the way, it may be unique among both the “long-distance adventure trails” and the “long pilgrimage trails” of the world.
Read the paper:
David Mason July 2009 - Mountain-Adventure Tourism Combined With Religious Heritage Sites
