Temple-stay is to experience the daily life of monk in the natural environment and Buddhist culture and to go through the spiritual peace and the traditional culture. In addition, temple-stay has complicated characteristics of temple tourism and exper...
Temple-stay is to experience the daily life of monk in the natural environment and Buddhist culture and to go through the spiritual peace and the traditional culture. In addition, temple-stay has complicated characteristics of temple tourism and experiential tourism such as cultivated and educational function, performative function of Buddhist culture and recreational function.
There are lots of problems in temple-stay management to improve qualitatively and quantitatively; the infrastructure establishment, the effect for diversity and characterization of culture experiential programs utilizing resources in temples, the establishment managerial human resource of experience and expertise, the professional temple growth aimed at foreigners. The government should support temple-stay in the aspect of the infrastructure establishment for Korean culture tourism. Also, Buddhist sects should support the temple-stay activation for internalization and popularization of Buddhism so that temples can settle down as the content of spiritual culture in 21st century.
This study has examined the role of temple-stay, the role of government and local governments, and the role of Buddhist sects and temples through its expectation effects; furthermore, it has tried to find the activation plans. The direct expectation effects are the improvement of substance in temples and psychological treatment with the practice of meditation experience for participants. The indirect expectation effects are the improvement of national image, the activation of tourism industry and the improvement in quality of national life by the right leasure culture establishment in the aspect of nation. In addition, the effect on local community has been divided into economic, social-cultural, educational and environmental effects and the effects are expected. Also, there are expectations such as the internalization and popularization of Buddhism through the spiritual culture and the internal establishment of natural Buddhism development by the enhancement of Ganwha Meditation tradition in Buddhist sects' position.
On the basis of the expectation effects, this study has analyzed results through the survey about the temple-stay effects aimed at management staff in Youngnam area. Also, the survey has been performed on the positive effect and negative effect aimed at 148 participants to confirm the indirect effects on the local community and then the results have been analyzed. In addition, the change of social life and religious life after meditation of temple stay among individual factors have been researched and analysed.
The results of survey analysis are as follows.
First, there is the highest effect in the facilities improvement and environment improvement among the effects of substance enhancement. Also, there are a few improvement effects of managerial human resources and the staffing; however, the effort for differentiation and characterization is insufficient. Therefore, the improvement plans for differentiation and characterization should be actively devised.
Second, the effect of meditation experience in temple stay is higher in the change of social life than religious life. This proves that meditation has a effect on anxiety, conflict, and stress relief.
Third, there are high effects of culture, education and social-environment and economy in the order among the temple-stay effects on the local community. The cultural effects are the contribution to righteous leasure life and program for weekend and holidays. In addition, there are excellent social effects on family program ,and educational effects on learning effect of children and character education of participants.
Therefore, the substance of temples should be enhanced to activate temple-stay through its effects and the plans for the improvement of internalization are as follows. First, the religion secularization about temple-stay should be overcome. Second, the accommodations and convenient facilities should be improved. Third, the system of managerial human resources should be activated. Fourth, various programs in the aspects of schedule, subject, season and theme should be characterized depending on the history, culture, locality, environment of temples. Also, the establishment plans of external support for temples are as follows. First, the professional temple-stay should be promoted through the financial support. Second, Buddhist sects should actively support in the various fields such as finance, duty, exchange and public relations. Third, local governments should establish the support system through the connection with local tourism industry, green-tourism and locally characterized industry.