By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Eighteen picturesque national parks nationwide have opened to the public free of charge since the beginning of this year.
Some temples located in those national parks, however, still charge admission fees under the pretext of cultural contribution, which continues to trigger conflicts between temples and climbers.
The Korea National Park Service (KNPS) and the Ministry of Environment abolished admission fees to those parks for the purpose of sharing the surrounding nature with people.
Since the new amendment, more visitors have been visiting national parks to appreciate the beauty.
According to the KNPS, the number of visitors to Mount Odae in Kangwon Province increased to 455,854 in the first half of this year from 364,290 in the same period last year, which represents an increase of 25.1 percent.
Mount Chiak, in the same province, showed a hike of 35.1 percent.
The Jogye Order, the nation's largest Buddhist organization, collects money from climbers in national parks where its temples nestle.
The group insists that it is inevitable to levy fees on climbers because its temples occupy 8.9 percent of national parks and require funds to maintain roads leading to the temples and cultural assets.
``We can't help but charge some fees because the temple surroundings are ruined as more climbers stream in since the government abolished admission fees,'' an official of the Jogye Order said.
He said they will protect their property rights, saying roads, camp sites and parking lots on the group's land, which the government built without the order's agreement, are illegal.
``Unless the government restores the ruined nature around temples, we will call for compensation.''
About 19 other temples in national parks levy fees of up to 3,000 won, almost double the admission fees the government levied previously.
Some temples impose toll fees on cars running on roads near temples, arguing they pass through land owned by the temples.
As a result, clashes take place in national parks between climbers who refuse to pay the fee and temple officials who stop them from entering those parks.
As temples have taken a firm stance on the matter, civic groups started campaigning against the fees.
On July 8, five civic organizations, including the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement and the Cultural Action, staged a protest rally in front of Sinhung Temple on Mount Seorak.
``It doesn't make sense that the temple imposes some fees on passers-by because they go along roads by the temple,'' said Hwang Pyeong-woo, chief commissioner of the cultural heritage commission at the Cultural Action. ``Besides, most of them don't even see cultural properties.''
The government and the Jogye Order said they would devise a solution to settle the issues. Officials at the Jogye Order, related ministries and the KNPS held several meetings to discuss the issue but failed to reach an agreement.
The civic organizations pointed to unintelligible management of Buddhist groups. According to the civic groups, the religious groups collect about 30-40 billion won (approximately $32.7-43.6 million) every year as a fee for cultural heritage but never revealed how they used the money to protect cultural properties.
The non-governmental organizations also questioned whether temples need extra money to take care of facilities because the government subsidizes Buddhist groups by more than nine billion won annually to help maintain their ``holy" land.
They said that citizens should not pay the fee that temples charge, criticizing the government and Buddhist groups for lingering in finding solutions.
The five groups held another rally in front of the Beopju Temple in North Chungcheong Province, on Tuesday.
They said they would hold more protest rallies to spread the campaign against the collection of fees.
Rep. Chun Young-se of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP) presented two ways to solve disputes over the fee last Tuesday.
``First of all, temples should explain why they need to impose fees on passers-by,'' he said. ``They should reveal their accounts on collected money.''
Buddhist groups should allow civic groups to participate in discussions between the government and the religious groups to solve fee-related issues.
``Every year, temples are supported by a massive amount of government subsidies to take care of their facilities and surrounding areas,'' the lawmaker said. ``Due to such reasons, the religious groups cannot say that cultural properties of Buddhism completely belong to them.''
He added that the religious groups should set an example by showing a desire to find a solution.
``It is tragic that the Buddhists aren't following the concept of ``ahimsa,'' which means non-violence, and non-possession in confronting civic organizations,'' Chun said. ``Now is the time for Buddhist groups to untie the knots of conflict.''
As the public is able to enjoy strolling around national parks without admission fees, more visitors are climbing up those areas.
More human contact results in more pollution and destruction of nature, however.
Due to the increased amount of climbers, the environment in the parks is ruined and the KNPS faces difficulties keeping those parks.
According to the service office, some visitors commit indiscretions such as smoking cigarettes, cooking and dumping garbage.
The managing office of Mount Sobaek in North Chungcheong Province said it discovered a total of 55 violations, including 20 cases of smoking and 22 cases of cooking, which has more than quadrupled from last year.
More than 1,000 climbers rush to Mount Odae on weekends who use the place as their lunch table, a spokesman of the office said.
In case of Mount Gaya in South Gyeongsang Province, an increase of visits by climbers destroys habitats of rare animals and walking routes.
Accidents like falling and getting injured have also increased, so the National Emergency Management Agency issued a warning last month.
As the summer holiday season has begun, the KNPS said it would tighten regulations on visitors' indiscretion and close dangerous paths.
More importantly, climbers should make an effort to preserve the nature and be careful to avoid accidents, it added.