Templestay marks a decade

Ven. Beopjin, director of Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, talks to reporters during a press conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the templestay program in Seoul, Wednesday. (Photo : Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism)

Since the templestay program was first introduced ahead of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup in a move to promote traditional Korean Buddhist culture, its popularity has been steadily soaring attracting both local and foreign tourists.

In commemorating the 10th anniversary of the program, plans are being put in place to diversify the current programs on offer, so as to ensure that it incorporates the needs of its range of participants all with the aim of serving as a wider public good beyond its current religious outlook.

Ven. Beopjin, director of Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, an affiliate of the Jogye Order, said the last decade served as a preparatory launching pad upon which the program’s identity was crafted. A new dispensation of the growth and internationalization of the program is therefore being ushered in.

“When I visited other countries, I found most people I met there easily associated Korea with the templestay program. I was surprised. The templestay is now national cultural tourism brand,” the monk said in a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday.

Park Yong-gyu, secretary-general of the corps, said that the program has been successful as people seek monastic experiences in nature for psychological healing amid the hustle and bustle of urbanization.

He said that diverse programs should be adopted for the needs of participants and the content of tourism programs needs to be specially developed for foreign participants as well.

“We will diversify the programs tailored for the needs of participants such as students, foreigners and office workers while contributing to social integration in addition to the role of serving the public good,” said Park.

The interests of participants are different as the recent survey shows that Koreans are most interested in templestays for relaxation while foreigners are interested in Korea’s traditional Buddhist culture. “Many foreign participants prefer the more traditional practices and experiences such as tea ceremonies and meditations. So we will adopt such programs for foreigners,” he said.

The corps has held various anniversary projects both at home and abroad. In March, it took part in the 7th Intourmarket in Russia and
2012 Jata Travel Fair in Japan in September and held a similar promotional event in the United States in July.

At home, foreign journalists were invited to the Seonun Temple in Gochang, North Jeolla Province and French hallyu fans visited Jeondeung Temple in Ganghwa Island, west of Seoul in August.

From the end of this month, various ceremonial events such as exhibitions and release of a commemorative album will continue to take place through the end of this year.

The templestay began in only 33 temples back in 2002 and increased to 109 as of 2012. The number of participants has steadily risen with an average 30 percent increase annually. A total of 1.9 million visitors have participated in the program as of the end of last year.
“In terms of patronage, Korean visitors comparatively stay longer at the facilities than foreigners. So we will develop diverse programs to attract more foreigners,” he said.

The templestay programs offer monastic experiences such as healthy vegetarian dishes, tea ceremonies, morning and evening chanting and “Seon” or Zen meditation.

The Jogye Order currently runs 15 temples, including Geumseon Temple, Myogak Temple and Bongeun Temple, specializing in templestay programs specifically for foreigners with professional interpretation services on offer. For more information, visit www.templestay.com. <The Korea Times/Chung Ah-young>

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