I really, really like this idea:
A group of dedicated foreigners is planning a project aimed at giving Korea an opportunity to improve its tourist attractions.
The “Following the Footsteps of Wonhyo” project is to foster the worldwide trend for pilgrimage journeys and to give Korea an opportunity to improve what it has to offer both Koreans and foreigners.
The project consists of building a pilgrimage trail inspired by the journey of Wonhyo, a Korean Buddhist monk in the seventh century.
The idea of the project was raised in 2007 by a group of foreigners living in Korea. All of them were interested in Korean Buddhism as a way of achieving personal development and they wanted to learn more about the famous monk.
Wonderful project if they — and I don’t know who “they” are, exactly — can pull it off. It’s a lot better than most of the half-baked tourism promotion schemes I’ve seen. Actually, one of the ideas I’ve been playing around with is creating an online illustrated guide to Korea’s sacred locations (sacred mountains, Buddhist temples, Catholic pilgrimage sites, etc.) modeled on this wonderful site.
Read the rest of the KT piece on your own. I love that photo of the mural of Wonhyo, too… looks almost as good as when I shot it.
{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
Perhaps this is an example of foreigners having better eyes than Koreans when it comes to tourism. So far, Korean bureaucrats have done a poor job of internationally promoting their own country, so maybe giving foreigners the power to determine and execute tourism concepts might be a wise idea.
IMHO, this concept is a good idea.
I’ve always though the “temple stay” idea was the smartest idea for luring Western tourists to Korea. Buddhist temples are located in Korea’s most beautiful regions, near mountains. Koreans are at the friendliest on mountains, and the mountain tourist village experience, i.e. drinking dongdongju and eating pajeon outside, is one of the best in Korea.
Many of the Catholic martyrdom sites and old rural churches (many of which you have photoed) are also located in beautiful areas.
Your idea for an online illustrated guide to Korea’s sacred locations is a great one.
WTF were you drinking last night? This is a good idea, but you can be sure that if there are either any props to be gotten from implementing it, and especially if there is an iota of commercial potential in it, the foreign originators of it will quickly be dispossessed of any authority over it and barring a miracle, the concept will be implemented by uri nara in a manner that substantially vitiates its appeal and potential.
vitiate or eviscerate?
But if we’re going to ‘give foreigners power’, please let me add to the list: in addition to the KTO, I want capable foreigners in charge of the English newspapers, the accounting industry, KOTRA, InvestKorea, that festering immigration office in Mokdong where young Korean civil servants go to learn how to hate foreigners from their seonbae, and yes, I’d like some foreign-owned law firms, too.
A pilgrimage experience centered around taverns and an unspecified path, how Sparkling!
“This journey was supposed to start in Gyeongju and to lead to Pyeongtaek, where he achieved enlightenment and where he decided to end his trip and stay in Korea.”
“He,” must have been in Pyeongtaek during the U. S. military protests when “he” reached “enlightenment/decided to end the trip.” heheached “enlightenment”/decided to end the trip.
Names of the “Supervisors” and “Specialists” please?
Who are these people? Who is on the committee? Did
“Perhaps this is an example of foreigners having better eyes than Koreans when it comes to tourism. So far, Korean bureaucrats have done a poor job of internationally promoting their own country, so maybe giving foreigners the power to determine and execute tourism concepts might be a wise idea.”
I think LMB would agree on that if he is told about it. That’s probably why he introduced a law or an order last year that enabled foreigners to become civil servants.
#3,
I see your cynical point. But the chance of such an event happening would be much lower, probably more so under a conservative government, if the foreigners- not the opportunistic ones from Texas who come to the country to make a quick profit with 3-5 years’ time frame, although I think even they should be well looked after-are those who have effectively chosen Korea as their home and genuinely want to contribute to the country.
Connecting non-Koreans working on tourism development the Lone Star debacle? Folks, half-assed doesn’t get more hobbled-together than that.
Connecting non-Koreans working on tourism development with the Lone Star debacle? Folks, half-assed doesn’t get more hobbled-together than that.
#7,
I don’t see your point.
Really? Perhaps you could explain what was meant by ‘the opportunistic [foreigners] from Texas who come to the country to make a quick profit with 3-5 years’ time frame’. Frankly, I don’t see what connection you intended between Texans interested in timely profit and the development of Korean tourism potential by non-Koreans, if not to ham-handedly reference Lone Star (an entity which, by the way, has no direct holdings in the tourism industry).
Care to enlighten us?
Yup, religious and pilgrimage tourism have a great potential to attract more tourists, and higher-quality tourists, to Korea — as argued in my October essay in the Korea Times — my whole career has become centered around advocating this.
And yup, helping to design and launch the Temple-Stay program in 2002 is one of the accomplishments I’m proudest of, so far — it’s becoming a widely known, heavily praised and very attractive aspect of Korean tourism, for sure — the Jogye Order is doing a fine job carrying it forward. Its principles could be applied to the other religious traditions here… but not so easily.
What Sperwer warns of in #3 is already happening; credit-stealing and spirit-distorting forces may have already taken control of this particular project — the reason that I no longer have anything to do with it — and probably the reason that Greg is so ambiguous and unspecific in this article. More I will not say…
#10,
You’re rigtht. My connection was not right. Thanks for having enlightened me.
# 12
“More I will not tell say…”
Come on, I want to hear more about the Pyeongtaek enlightenment!
“credit-stealing and spirit-distorting forces may have already taken control of this particular project.”
Spirit-distorting can occur in any project, and as far as credit-stealing, what did you expect?
I’ve got to reiterate, how “Sparkling” can a pilgrimage experience be when it’s “centered around Korean taverns along an unspecified path?”
The article is practically meaningless because of Greg’s ambiguity, I wouldn’t be making any excuses for him.
Naw, you don’t. Go for the real deal: mind-to-mind transmission. Just drink that water from the skull.
> Come on, I want to hear more about the Pyeongtaek enlightenment!
Nobody has any idea where that occured. A temple on the western edge of Pyeongtaek claims it, and this project has swallowed that and is claiming it, but there are several other claimants along the west coast, and it could even have been up in Hwanghae-do — there is part of their BS problem.
> what did you expect?
Once a certain person became involed, i expected *this*. But don’t doubt that there are some other officials in Korea’s tourism efforts who have integrity… Don’t be overly cynical.
> I’ve got to reiterate, how “Sparkling” can a pilgrimage
> experience be when it’s “centered around Korean taverns
> along an unspecified path?”
Those are a commentor’s words, not Greg’s, not anyone actually involved with the project. It was supposed to visit many temples, not taverns…
> The article is practically meaningless because of Greg’s ambiguity,
> I wouldn’t be making any excuses for him.
I’m not, and you’re right about its meaningless-ness — no names, no events, no dates — I don’t know why he even agreed to write it… But there is a reason.
I hope this newly made travel item doesn’t include drinking rotten water out of a human skull to attain enlightenment. Cause that would make following ‘The Footsteps of Wonhyo’ too much of a literal thing.
Wonhyo was a most interesting Buddhist who aimed for a synthesis of the competing schools of Buddhism. If the tour really focuses exploring the real Buddhist legacy of Korea, it would be the a wonderful intellectual achievement.
“I want capable foreigners in charge of the English newspapers, the accounting industry, KOTRA, InvestKorea, that festering immigration office in Mokdong where young Korean civil servants go to learn how to hate foreigners from their seonbae, and yes, I’d like some foreign-owned law firms, too.”
I can add some more:
House speaker, finance minister, financial regulator, attorney general, corruption boss, foreign-owned hospitals, foreign-owned schools, Hyundai Motors boss—
I can add more yet. Let’s eliminate the notion of foreigner.
I think this a great idea as well if implemented properly such as what we see in Japan with the Shikoku Pilgrimage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shikoku_Pilgrimage
There are all kinds of Pilgrimage ideas that would work great in this nation — if implemented properly…
“I want capable foreigners in charge of the English newspapers, the accounting industry, KOTRA, InvestKorea, that festering immigration office in Mokdong where young Korean civil servants go to learn how to hate foreigners from their seonbae, and yes, I’d like some foreign-owned law firms, too.”
I can add some more:
House speaker, finance minister, financial regulator, attorney general, corruption boss, foreign-owned hospitals, foreign-owned schools, Hyundai Motors boss—
How about Koreans enslave all of you first for about a couple of hundred years? After that there’s this really fun period where things like random lynchings take place.
I think you’re missing a few important steps that have to come first.
This water from a skull business reminds me of the one who referred to himself as Big Hominid’s Hairy Chasm.
He is now supposedly on a Spiritual Walk across the US. Thinking about getting his book.
I hope this newly made travel item doesn’t include drinking rotten water out of a human skull to attain enlightenment. Cause that would make following ‘The Footsteps of Wonhyo’ too much of a literal thing.
History and science has often demonstrated that literalism and religion is often a very, very bad mix.
Few people know this, including Christians of all stripes, but the bible also talks about literalism. In John 3:1-21, Jesus and the Nicodemus, who is a rabbi, a teacher of law, and a Pharisee, are having a discussion about the meaning of “being born again”. Nicodemus asks how can one crawl back into his mother’s womb? And Jesus basically says, incredulously : dude, you call yourself a rabbi? What kind of a bonehead are you?
Recently, the Dalai Lama has said that it makes sense that there are various religions for various types of cultures and demographics, but that they all employ different mythologies to disseminate essentially the same human values. What Wonhyo was doing is reminiscent in some ways of this comment by the Dalai Lama.
This perspective turns all religions on their ears by rendering the concepts of gods or cosmologies irrelevent.
Based on the ealiest Buddhist writings, this is precisely what the Buddha intended for Buddhism. Of course, his brand of Buddhism existed within the larger context of Indian religious ideas, and has never been the same since.
Buddhism, like other religions became a hopeless mess of conflicting theories, mythologies and superstitions. Wonhyo’s approach was to attempt to synthesize them all within a harmonious whole.This is only possible if one is first willing to accept that Buddhism is a practice, as opposed to a faith.
“How about Koreans enslave all of you first for about a couple of hundred years? After that there’s this really fun period where things like random lynchings take place.”
That’ll put those former slaveholding Canadians and Australians in their place! (I think barbarian is a KOrean expat, if memory serves)
Beautifully said.
#14,
I can tell you about that enlightenment – for me, it happened at a place very close to Pyongtaek’s train station and was over in about 30 minutes, including the beer. This was in the early ’80s, mind you, but things might still be the same.
Because as everyone knows, the economy of the antebellum South was dependent on Korean-American slave labor. I mean, Jesus, haven’t you people seen “Roots?”
“What’s your name, boy?”
“Cheol-su. Kim Cheol-su.”
(crack!)
“No, your name is Toby, and it will be your name until the day you die.”
*Mind you, the gist of what NetizenKim is saying is still valid.
Wonhyo didn’t attain enlightenment by drinking rotten water out of a human skull in the middle of the night — he attained it from what he realized after the sun came up! Kind of a hero of proto-Seon-bulgyo. Ever since the introduction and development of the Seon Sect in Korea, the process has become more regularized — hopefully our Pilgrims can have an easier time of it…
Mizar5 writes correctly about Wonhyo and Buddhism above, i think.
Wonhyo stands out as the first guy we know of who attained enlightenment “on his own”, master-less but just reading the books, without going to China or etc, self-enlightenment on this land — starting a cross-religious tradition-thread in Korea’s spiritual history, up through Choe Chi-won and Jinul Bojo-guksa and Toegye Yi Hwang all the way to the early “self-evangilized” Christians…
Hello guys,
I am very pleased to read all these comments. I am actually the project manager of the Korean Modern Canterbury Tales, in the footsteps of Wonhyo and will be very glad to help you understand this project better. I am preparing a press release and can send you more details about the project.
I am French and I am working for the UNWTO ST-EP Foundation based in Seoul, in charge of implementing the project.
The main thing I can tell you is that this has to be a sustainable tourism project and therefore it should contribute to local development (mainly introducing not well-known places). It is also supposed to foster friendship and cross-cultural exchange. Anybody is welcome to participate in this project, especially all pilgrims of the world, whatever their religion.
I don’t undertand this story of tavern (I am Frenc after all)…
Cath (cg.hamel@hotmail.com)
Well to be more technical, he wouldn’t have realized anything the next morning if he hadn’t drank that water during the night. Of course he wouldn’t have been enlightened by his mistake if he didn’t have any deep wisdom and insight in the first place. (Otherwise he would have just been simply disgusted by his mistake and continued on his way.) I think these two conditions were necessary for his enlightenment.
——
How tacky would it be if they had tourists drink out of cups molded like skulls? Dumb idea?
BULLSHIT
He didn’t “attain” anything.
Of course not — because there never was any mirror on which the dust could alight, anyway — really, from the very beginning there wasn’t even any dust…
Nothing was ever lost or lacking from the eternal Buddha-no-mind, so how could anything be attained???
Thanks for reminding us, Zen Master Sperwer!
Hi Cathy, long time no see…
Thanks for your post, it clears up several questions.
Please do keep us updated on this project — and i wish you the best /bok/ in seeing it through to fruition.
It is indeed a good idea. People of like-minded groups generally have a better idea of what it is they want to see and do than the promoters of that area. I’ve heard of many disappointed foreign visitors to Vermont, for instance, because the scenery and cultural aspects of that state did not meet their expectations, whatever those were (but I can guess they were along the lines of Disneyland or Vegas or something like that). And compared to Japan, where temple pilgrimages attract many, the Buddhist community in Korea is alive, if not thriving (haven’t been there for a while).
Further on this, I used to warn Korean friends off of this place (see flag), saying, in short it’s only a bullshit facade that is empty at the core. Experience has shown that much more often than not, the visitors leave satisfied, if not charmed. Go figure.
‘This is only possible if one is first willing to accept that Buddhism (ANY religion) is a practice, as opposed to a faith.’
The only “religious” people I have met that I can respect LIVE it, but DON’T preach it. You SEE it in their daily lives. Respectable practices. No finger pointing.
I saw a Kn TV show about a German buddhist who had nothing but a walking stick and the cobbled together rags on his back. Walking the world. Working his way through life.
Fuck all you poseurs.
Ariang News had a report on this as well, interviewing some of the founding “foreigners” too. This is looking as if it is becoming a popular idea, thus “spewer”s concerns about this project being hi-jacked are most likely justified.
I only hope local 부동산’s do not try to promote property along the trail as was reported during the onset of the canal fiasco; I would not be looking for the Wonhyo Hotel or pub but this is a likely occurance, given that the last time I hiked up Kwanak-san, some enterprising jerk ran an electric line half-way up and was selling hot food up there, right on the trail (forget any fire hazards too). I would love to re-stock Korea with tigers just for people like that guy.
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