Walking the National Treasures Trail in Yecheon... Pioneering a New Path in Pilgrimage Tourism

Fam Tour with 300 Buddhist Pilgrims Successfully Completed
Experiential Content Linking Prayer, Cultural Heritage, and Meditation

Yecheon County in North Gyeongsang Province has unveiled a pilgrimage tourism program that links national heritage sites and millennium-old Buddhist temples, demonstrating the potential for expanding cultural tourism content.

On July 26, Yecheon County announced the successful completion of the "2026 National Treasures and Cultural Assets Pilgrimage Fam Tour," which was conducted with over 300 Buddhist pilgrims from Seoul and Gwangju.

300 Members of Buddhist Pilgrimage Groups from Seoul and Gwangju Visit, Drawing Attention to Tourism Models Utilizing National Heritage Sites
[Photo by Yecheon-gun]

Under the theme "Following the Breath of a Thousand Years, Encountering National Treasures," the event offered a program where participants toured Yecheon’s major temples and national heritage sites while engaging in prayer, pilgrimage, cultural interpretation, and meditation.

The pilgrimage began with a visit to Hancheonsa Temple, where Doan, the chief prayer monk from BTN Buddhist TV, led the group in a prayer ceremony. The pilgrims also paid homage to the Treasure-designated Iron Seated Vairocana Buddha Statue at Hancheonsa Temple.

Next, at the Five-story Stone Pagoda at Gaesimsa Temple Site—a prime example of Goryeo-era stone culture and designated as a National Treasure—participants listened to an explanation by a professional cultural tourism interpreter, revisited the historical significance of the heritage site, and took part in a ritual walk around the pagoda and individual prayer offerings.

The final leg at Yongmunsa Temple included tours of the National Treasure-designated Tripitaka Koreana and the Buddhist scripture revolving rack (Yunjangdae), accompanied by Dharma talks and temple commentary by Doan. Participants also experienced meditation and temple exploration amid Yecheon’s natural settings.

This fam tour went beyond simply viewing cultural assets, offering a unique pilgrimage tourism program that integrated religious devotion with historical and cultural experiences. This approach was well-received by the participants.

By connecting Yecheon’s National Treasures, Treasures, and ancient temples into a single tourism route, the tour showcased the county's potential to expand both stay-type cultural tourism and religious tourism markets.

Expanding the Foundation for Attracting Nationwide Tourists through Cultural Pilgrimage Connecting Hancheonsa, Gaesimsaji, and Yongmunsa Temples
[Photo by Yecheon County]

Yecheon County Mayor An Byeongyun stated, "This fam tour was an opportunity to showcase Yecheon’s national heritage and beautiful natural environment across the country, and to confirm the potential for developing pilgrimage tourism. We will continue to develop distinctive tourism content that links local cultural heritage and tourism resources, thereby enhancing our competitiveness as a tourist destination."

National heritage is no longer seen merely as something to be preserved. It is now an era in which a region’s history, faith, and natural environment are woven together for visitors to experience as a unified narrative.

The Yecheon pilgrimage fam tour is significant in that it represents an effort to expand cultural heritage into tourism content by combining temples, meditation, and cultural interpretation, with National Treasures and Treasures at its core.

If these efforts continue and develop into seasonal or regional pilgrimage courses, Yecheon has strong potential to grow beyond a historical and cultural tourism destination and become one of Korea’s leading pilgrimage tourism cities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.