Buddhist order hopes to lure more to 'temple stay' program

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye order,
said Tuesday it will further promote its temple stay program for foreign visitors
this year as part of an effort to propagate the religion.

"Temple stay," initiated in 2002, is a unique program that lets lay people and
non-Buddhists experience monastic life. During an overnight stay in mountainside
temples, visitors participate in monks' daily routines, including early-morning
chanting, Zen meditation and tea ceremony as well as domestic chores.
"The Jogye order will make utmost efforts this year to propagate Korean Buddhism
in the international community," Ven. Jaeseung, the new leader of the Jogye order
who assumed the post in November, said in a press meeting.
"We will endeavor to further diversify our temple stay programs so that they can
become a representative tourism attraction in Korea," the chief monk said.
About 100 temples across South Korea offer temple stay programs; most last two
days over the weekend, but some also offer day retreats. The number of
participants increased by 24 percent to 140,000 people last year, but the ratio
of foreigners fell slightly due to concerns over the H1N1 influenza virus, which
peaked during the summer vacation season, according to data from the Jogye order.

The number of foreign participants last year was 19,200, compared to 20,100 in
2008, most of them from Japan, the United States, Canada, Germany and France.
In line with the country's hosting of the G-20 summit in November, the Jogye
order hopes to draw 30,000 foreign visitors and 180,000 people overall.
A 2009 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development notes
Korea's temple stay program as "innovative" and "a good example of a theme-based
tourist attraction." The program has helped change foreign perspectives of Korea
that are often informed mostly by the Korean War and tensions with North Korea,
the OECD report said, adding issues like outdated accommodations and a lack of
skilled human resources still need to be addressed.
The Jogye order did not give specific plans on how it will improve such
infrastructure matters.
Ven. Jonghun, who oversees the temple stay project in the Jogye order, said the
Buddhist sect expects synergy effects from collaborations with the culture
ministry and the Korea Tourism Organization in major international events. During
the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February and the March travel trade fair in
Germany, the International Tourism Bourse, the Buddhist order will promote temple
stay programs in Korean booths, he said.
"The biggest issue we have today is publicity. We will try to make more efforts
to make the program better known around the world," Ven. Jonghun said.
Buddhism was introduced to Korea via China some 1,700 years ago. According to
Statistics Korea, Buddhism is the most popular religion in the country with more
than 10.7 million followers, compared to 8.6 million Protestants and 5.1 million
Catholics. The numbers were compiled with data from each religious institution
and thus could include overlapping registrations.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)