![]() David A. Mason rests against a tree during a RAS Korea event on May 16, 2017. | |
Born | Detroit, Michigan | November 11, 1957
Occupation | university professor |
Website | |
san-shin |
David Alan Mason (born November 11, 1957) is an American academic usually based in South Korea. He has been a professor of cultural tourism at Sejong University in Seoul since 2014. He has authored about 10 prominent books on Korean culture, spirituality, travel and mountains, and serves as a scholar, author, public speaker and tour guide. He remains a well-known authority on Korean spiritual traditions of all kinds, [1] especially about his core topic the Sansin (산신, 山神, Sanshin) [2] deity and their shrines found throughout Korea called Sansin-gak (산신각, 山神閣), integral parts of Korean Buddhist temples, Korean Shamanism and village life. [3] He is also an expert on the Baekdu-daegan mountain range and Korea's national parks, having visited all 20 as of 2011. [4]
Mason was born in Detroit, and raised in its suburb Birmingham, Michigan. He earned his B.A. degree from the University of Michigan and San Francisco State University in 1981, studying Oriental Philosophy, Environmental Biology, Health and Macrobiotics. He first visited Korea in July 1982, [5] staying for a year as an English teacher and growing increasingly interested in the traditional culture found in its mountains, ultimately turning it into a career. [6] He moved to Korea permanently in January 1986. He received his M.A. in Korean Studies from Yonsei University of Seoul in 1997, majoring in the history of Korean traditional religions.
Mason worked for Kangwon National University 1988–97, Yonsei University Wonju Campus 1999–2000, Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism 2001–05, and the Tourism College of Kyung Hee University 2005–13.
He has been featured many times in Korean media, including print, television and radio programs, such as the Arirang TV interview-show "Heart to Heart" [7] hour-long episode on May 21, 2013 entitled "David A. Mason, an established Korean mountain spirit expert". [8] He also appeared in the half-hour episode 8 of Arirang TV's "K-Phile" [9] (Korea-Lover) series entitled "Sanshin, a Symbol of Korea's Nature and Culture" on Dec 14 2016, [10] and in a section of the Chosun Mountain-TV program entitled "산의 부활 Rejuvenescence of Mountain", about the "K-Mountain" promotional effort launched that autumn by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Mason's research activities, in January 2017.
He has contributed to The Korea Times several times over the years, starting in 1983 with an article on Jikjisa. [11] To promote cultural tourism in Korea, he created a database of his top 40 sites in Korea for the World Pilgrimage Guide. [12] [13] He assisted Tony MacGregor and cohorts in designing and trekking the Wonhyo Trail pilgrimage-tourism project in 2011. [14] [15]
He assisted in the creation of Korea's Temple Stay program in 2002. [16]
He has been an English editor and writer the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, and an adjunct professor of international tourism for the Hanyang University Graduate School of Tourism, and taught courses on the history of Korean culture and Northeast Asian Relations for Hanyang's International Summer School Intensive Program. [17]
He has served on the managing boards of and been a frequent lecturer for Royal Asiatic Society Korea Branch (RAS [18] ) in Seoul and contributed to the society's journal Transactions, writing on "Sacred Aspects and Assets of Taebaek-san", [19] "Jirisan: Sacred Aspects and Assets", [20] "Mountain Tourism and Religious Heritage Sites: A Fresh Paradigm" [21] and "Go-un Choi Chi-won’s Pungryu". [22]
Mason was an invited speaker on Korea's Religious Tourism features at the UNWTO's "International Conference on Tourism, Religions and Dialogue of Cultures" in Córdoba, Spain in October 2007 [23] and "International Congress on Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage" in Fatima, Portugal in November 2017. [24] In addition, his research paper "The Baekdu-daegan Region as Korea's Fresh & Green Multi-faith Pilgrimage-Tourism Destination" was published by the "Religious Tourism in Asia and the Pacific" Report of UNWTO in April 2011. [25]
Before 2005 the Baekdu-daegan mountain system, a connected web of all Korea's mountains that defines the geography of the Korean Peninsula, remained entirely unknown to the world outside Korea, but in that year professor Mason began to promote it to the global audience in English by establishing the website san-shin.org [26] and publishing articles highlighting the spiritual and cultural traditions of the mountain range. [27]
He served as the contributing editor to the first Edition of the "Baekdu-daegan Trail Guidebook" authored by Roger Shepherd and Andrew Douch, which garnered wide attention from international travel-hikers. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32]
He was appointed as the Republic of Korea's Honorary Ambassador of the Baekdu-daegan mountain-system in January 2011. [33] [34] [35]
He gave a talk at a seminar and publicity event about Baekdu-daegan held by the Korea Forest Research Institute at the Mungyeong Saejae Pass on June 10, 2010, which also featured Director-General Shin Jun-hwan and the famous Korean poet Ko Un [36] [37]
Paektu Mountain or Baekdu Mountain is an active stratovolcano on the Chinese–North Korean border. In China, it is known as Changbai Mountain. At 2,744 m (9,003 ft), it is the tallest mountain in North Korea and Northeast China and the tallest mountain of the Baekdu-daegan and Changbai mountain ranges. The highest peak, called Janggun Peak, belongs to North Korea. The mountain notably has a caldera that contains a large crater lake called Heaven Lake, and is also the source of the Songhua, Tumen, and Yalu rivers. Korean and Manchu people assign a mythical quality to the mountain and its lake, and consider the mountain to be their ancestral homeland.
Silla, alternatively Shilla, was a Korean kingdom that existed between 57 BCE – 935 CE and located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Silla had the lowest population of approximately 850,000 people, which was significantly smaller than those of Baekje and Goguryeo.
Mount Kōya is a large temple settlement in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan to the south of Osaka. In the strictest sense, Mount Kōya is the mountain name (sangō) of Kongōbu-ji Temple, the ecclesiastical headquarters of the Kōyasan sect of Shingon Buddhism.
Jirisan (Korean: 지리산) is a mountain located in the southern region of South Korea. It is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island's Hallasan, and the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea.
Ansan is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul National Capital Area. It is connected to Seoul by rail via Seoul Subway Line 4. It is situated on the Yellow Sea coast and some islands lie within its jurisdiction. The largest and best-known of these is Daebu Island.
Haneuljae, also known as Gyerimnyeong (계립령/鷄立嶺) is a mountain pass in the Sobaek Mountains of central South Korea. It runs between Chungju city in North Chungcheong province and Mungyeong city in North Gyeongsang province. Haneuljae rises to about 530 metres (1,740 ft) above sea level, between the peaks of Poam Mountain and Juheul Mountain.
Hanyang University is a private prestigious research university in Seoul and Ansan, South Korea. Hanyang derives from the former name of the capital Seoul used during the Joseon Dynasty. The university was founded in 1939 as an engineering school, and was the country's first college to offer engineering and architecture programs.
Baekdu-daegan is a traditional Korean conception of the mountains and consequently the watersheds of the Korean peninsula. The mountain range stretches the length of the Korean peninsula, around 1500 km, from Baekdu Mountain in the north to Jirisan or Hallasan on Jeju Island in the south. The mountain range is often associated with national identity and traditional Korean shamanism.
Jikjisa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Seon Buddhism. It is located on the slopes of Hwangaksan in Daehang-myeon, Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It may be one of the oldest temples in South Korea.
Ssanggyesa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. It is located on the southern slopes of Jirisan, southwest of sacred Samshin-bong Peak, in the Hwagye-dong Valley of Hwagae-myeon, Hadong County, in the province of Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea.
Deogyusan (Korean: 덕유산), formerly spelled Togyusan, is a mountain in South Korea. Its highest peak is 1,614 meters above sea level.
Jongno District is a district in Downtown Seoul, South Korea. It is the historic center of Seoul, and contains the Joseon-era royal palace Gyeongbokgung and the former presidential residence, the Blue House.
Odaesan, also known as Mount Odae-san or Mount Odae, is a major cluster of mountains and national park in eastern Gangwon Province, South Korea, standing at the junction of Gangneung City, Pyeongchang County and Hongcheon County. It stands at the junction of the Taebaek Mountains and the Charyeong Mountains, a spur range stretching to the west and serving to divide the South Han River / Namhan River from the North Han River / Bukhan River. It stands just to the south of Seoraksan and north of Dutasan along the Baekdu-daegan Mountain-system mainline, the range of granite peaks that make up the symbolic spine of the Korean Peninsula, but its peaks are more rounded and forested than most. National Highway 6 runs through the park, between the south main-entrance and the northeast corner descending to the east coast. It contain five main peaks surrounding a deep main valley running north to south, and several other subsidiary peaks, such as Noin-bong, with gorges between, a watershed forming a river leaving this area to the south. Just outside the western boundary of the national park area, another mountain Gyebang-san rises to 1,577 m (5,174 ft), higher than conventional Odae-san's summit, and they are connected by a 10 km long ridge; it is controversial whether or not to include this within the cluster or consider it as separate.
Sacred mountains are central to certain religions, and are usually the subjects of many legends. For many, the most symbolic aspect of a mountain is the peak because it is believed that it is closest to heaven or other religious realms. Many religions have traditions centered on sacred mountains, which either are or were considered holy or are related to famous events. In some cases, the sacred mountain is purely mythical, like the Hara Berezaiti in Zoroastrianism. Mount Kailash is believed to be the abode of the deities Shiva and Parvati, and is considered sacred in four religions: Hinduism, Bon, Buddhism, and Jainism. Volcanoes, such as Mount Etna in Italy, were also considered sacred, Mount Etna being believed to have been the home of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and the forge.
Taebaeksan, also known as Mount Taebaeksan or Mount Taebaek, is a South Korean mountain with several important peaks of the Taebaek mountain range, or the Taebaek Jeongmaek Range. It is an important mountain in the Baekdu-daegan mountain range, the point where it turns west after running along Korea's east coast for a long distance. Its territory stretches from the city of Taebaek in Yeongwol-gun County, Gangwon-do Province to Bonghwa-gun County, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and it was designated South Korea's 22nd national park on 22 August 2016. It has an elevation of 1,566.7 m (5,140 ft).
Seoul, officially Seoul Special City, and formerly known as Hanseong and Keijō, is the capital of the Republic of Korea (ROK), commonly known as South Korea, and the country's most extensive urban center. The broader Seoul Capital Area, encompassing Gyeonggi province and Incheon metropolitan city, emerged as the world's fourth largest metropolitan economy in 2014, trailing only Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles, hosting more than half of South Korea's population. Although Seoul's population peaked at slightly over 10 million, it has gradually decreased since 2014, standing at approximately 9.97 million residents as of 2020. Seoul is the seat of the South Korean government.
Mountain Gods (山神) are Asian tutelary deities associated with mountains. They are related to landlord deities and tudigongs and City Gods.
Doseon Guksa was a Korean Buddhist monk (826-898) who lived during the decline of the Silla Dynasty, just prior to the foundation of the Goryeo Dynasty. At least 70 temples, monasteries and hermitages are claimed to have been founded either under Doseon's supervision and direction, or by orders of Taejo of Goryeo following Doseon's recommendations.
The Five Mountains of Korea are five renowned mountains in Korean culture.
The Paektusan Secret Camp is claimed to be a former military base on Mount Paektu, and the claimed birthplace of Kim Jong-Il, though he was born in the USSR. The North Korean government claims that it played an important role in the resistance against the Japanese occupation of the Korean Peninsula, and was occupied by the Korean People's Revolutionary Army. Official photos and descriptions of the location depict there being a log cabin and several barracks at the site. They also describe a monument with a poem dedicated to Kim Jong-Il and allegedly written by Kim Il-Sung located near the camp. The location is currently used to support both Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il's cult of personality.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |title=
(help)