• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.31
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• pp.131-163
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• 2018

The concept of pilgrimage is a phenomenon that appears in almost every major religion. It is traditionally defined as religious travel to a sacred external place for spiritual purposes and introspection. However, there are many different relationships between pilgrimages and religious customs, including excursions through abstract dimensions and regular journeys such as annual holidays. Because modern pilgrimages are taken for a variety of reasons, they are not limited to faith-based historical locations. Thus, many scholars also perceive pilgrimages as an increasing part of the general industry of tourism. These journeys are now studied in a diverse range of fields (e.g., ethnography and tourism). In this way, pilgrimages have created a new market from an industrial perspective. This economic analysis has resulted in secular interest. Pilgrimages can now be taken by gil (walkways), which have gained tremendous popularity. Thus, religiosity and humanity as they are embraced through pilgrimages are now receiving outside influences. This study therefore is aimed at generating suggestions for developing the pilgrimage routes related to Kang Jeungsan (i.e., the Supreme God of Daesoon Jinrihoe). These proposed Jeungsan routes are not simply restricted to religious activities or nostalgia, nor are they exclusively concerned with encountering holiness. To realize this idea, it is necessary to reconsider the concept of a sacred space.