The purpose of this study is to examine the Myungpum Villages in national parks to identify the success factors for Myungpum Villages and determine the importance and the priority in policy direction. For this, the researcher used the AHP (Analytic Hi... The purpose of this study is to examine the Myungpum Villages in national parks to identify the success factors for Myungpum Villages and determine the importance and the priority in policy direction. For this, the researcher used the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method, which is one of the multi-criteria decision making method. The result of this study can be summarized as follows; Based on the literature review and two preliminary studies with experts, the researcher identified five higher level success factors and 18 lower level success factors for Myungpum Villages. With these, the hierarchical structure model for the success model was set for the Myungpum Villages in national parks. Then, the AHP survey was conducted with 20 experts on Myungpum Villages. The result of the analysis on the relative importance levels of different factors using the AHP method is as follows; First, the comparison of the relative importance between higher level factors showed that the most important factor was the operation skill for Myungpum Villages, followed by the development of the tourism infrastructure in the- 74 -Myungpum Villages, development of tourism commercialization, invigoration of the economy of the Myungpum Villages, external support system, and branchvalue of the Myungpum Villages. Second, the general weight (Global importance) was used as the basis for the analysis of the priority. The result of this analysis showed that the most important factor was the transparent management of the cooperative, followed by the leadership of the Myungpum Villages management team, development of the natural and ecological tourism resources, the trust between the Myungpum Villages management team and the residents, the commitment and harmony among the residents, the income of the residents and creating jobs, development of the tourism infrastructure and landscapes, the development of the specialty products as a tourism product, inducement of tourists and increase in the spending, support for the sales of specialty products, development of the tourism courses and experiential programs, continued support from the management authority, influence of the brand of the national park, and the cooperation between the employees of the management authority and the residents, in the same order. It is believed that the implication of this study is that this is the first study in which the success factors of the Myungpum Villages were identified through the literature review and expert opinion and the priority between these success factors were evaluated. The practical implications of this study are as follows; First, the AHP analysis of the higher-level category showed that the operational ability of the Myungpum Villages was the most important success factor. Especially, according to the AHP expert survey, the ‘transparent management’ of- 75 -the Myungpum Villages ranked the top among the lower level factors, followed by the ‘leadership of the management team members of the Myungpum Villages.” The transparency in the operation of the Myungpum Villages ensured by the institutional means and the leadership of the management team are essential for forming the trust between the management team and the residents. With this, it would be possible to lead the residents to bond with each other and successfully execute the resident-participatory village making projects. In order to achieve such transparency in management, it is necessary to form and monitor the accounting system, while policies to improve the leadership of the local leaders are also necessary. Second, of the higher-level items, development of the Myungpum Villages infrastructure and commercialization as a tourism product ranked second in terms of the importance level, followed by the development of tourism resources for natural and ecological village, which jointly ranked the third by the global importance level. The development of the tourism resources of natural/environmental villages enhances the satisfaction level of the tourism, while it is possible to enhance the attractiveness as a tourism destination, as itis an important success factor for a Myungpum Villages. For this reason, it isi mportant to understand the environmental and cultural identity of the Myungpum Villages to develop the landscape and tourism infra structure(accommodation and restaurants, etc.) that reflect the characteristics of the village. Third, the AHP expert survey showed that, according to the result of the survey, the ‘income of the residents and creation of jobs’ came in as the fifth most important factor for the success of Myungpum Villages. To build the basis of economic independence is an important factor that can leaded to the sustained development of the village. In order to fuel the economy continuously, the- 76 -operational skills and the service levels of the joint operations (lodging, diners, etc.) should be improved, while a systematic approach is needed for the transparent management of the shared profits. Lastly, the success of the Myungpum Villages projects can also be re-evaluated in the perspective of operation and management after the completion of the development of the village. However, the continuance of the support from the related authorities is limited. While it ranked relatively low among other factors, the external support system is also an essential factor for a success. For this, itis necessary to maintain a cooperation system with the local government and educate the residents to enhance the capability of the village management team to operate the village companies and village cooperative on their won. In addition, the village making projects require understanding and participation on the projects by the residents. The employees of the project and the residents should be in a trusting relationship. And, for this, it is necessary for the workers of the management authority to have the skills and be committed to enhance the trust among the residents. In the case of Myungpum Villages, the trust and awareness level on the national parks are high. But, the awareness on each of the individual villages is relatively insufficient. To complement this, it is necessary to engage in the P/R activities, so that each of these Specialty Villages could be recognized as an independent brand.
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