Exploring global and local intersections at a prospective World Heritage Site in South Korea: implications for sustainable tourism development, strategic planning and management

To date, there has been a lack of research examining the process of developing a World Heritage Site (WHS), in particular from a global-local perspective. Consequently, very little is known about the relationships and dynamic interactions between global priorities and local needs for development. Moreover, relatively little attention has been devoted to studying the views of local communities in and around WHSs, as well as their perceptions of the challenges and opportunities that occur from tourism development and WHS designation. This dissertation employs the theoretical lens of glocalization and focuses on the local perspective in the context of Naganeupseong, a prospective WHS in South Korea. Naganeupseong is a Korean traditional historic folk village dating from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The village is surrounded by a fortress wall which prevents outsiders from having an open access to the site (they need to pay an entrance fee to look around the village). Inside the fortress, 288 people actually live in 150 households. Within this context, this study explores the intersection of the global and the local and the negotiations between the representatives of those two perspectives in the process of constructing and negotiating heritage, a process that is inherently dynamic, contingent and contested. It examines how, under what conditions, and to what extent the global and the local intersect in the process of preparing for World Heritage Listing. This research employs a multiple methods approach that is guided by institutional ethnography including participant observation, institutional texts, and semi-structured interviews. It focuses on the local perspectives and understanding of heritage, as well as the challenges and opportunities presented by the potential title of WHS from a global/local interaction perspective. By doing so, it examines the perceived significance of the site, the negotiation process to suit the needs of the global within the local context, as well as the locals’ expectations and concerns for WHS designation and its perceived corresponding impacts. This study furthers our understanding of the intersection of global/local processes involved in determining what constitutes World Heritage. It also serves as an excellent opportunity to understand the impacts of such processes from a pre-WHS designation perspective.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Recreation, Sport, and Tourism

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Park, Sanghun

Contributors dc:contributor

• Santos, Carla
• Green, Christine
• Silverman, Helaine
• Dearborn, Lynne

• Cultural heritage tourism
• Sustainable tourism development and management
• Glocalization
• World Heritage
• Local community
• Stakeholder collaboration
• Institutional ethnography

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Sanghun Park

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/97688

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/97688