Z세대 주목도 증대를 위한 사찰 문화 캐릭터 디자인 연구- 통도사(通度寺）캐릭터 개발을 중심으로 -

Abstract

Currently, Buddhism and temple culture in South Korea are facing significant challenges due to societal secularization and declining religious interest. Particularly, as the age demographic of Buddhist practitioners skews older, the frequency of visits to temples by younger generations is diminishing. Generation Z, being a pivotal demographic shaping the present, requires concerted efforts to capture their interest. Consequently, after researching the characteristics and consumer culture of Generation Z, a cultural character centered around the "Bulbo" Tongdosa Temple, one of South Korea's representative temples, was developed. This study involved investigating the characteristics and consumer culture of Generation Z, analyzing the top 5 popular characters among Generation Z based on the Character Industry White Paper released by the Korea Creative Content Agency in 2023, surveying the current design status of Tongdosa Temple, experimenting with 12 sketches inspired by the temple's symbol, the pagoda, and deriving 3 drafts with the input of experts. Focusing on creativity, approachability, diversity, applicability, and interest stimulation, the development of the Tongdosa Temple character was undertaken, followed by a survey of 212 consumers. The results indicated that Draft 1 achieved a better balance between tradition and modernity and garnered the highest support compared to Drafts 2 and 3. Through this design, it is hoped that temples can effectively strengthen their connectivity with Generation Z as Buddhist social organizations.