The Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism has announced that it will offer numerous Special Summer Templestay programs at more than 50 temples across South Korea from July through August, coinciding with South Korea’s summer vacation and school break season.
The programs are designed to offer a range of experiences, including summer retreats and leisure activities, programs for children, youth, and families, healing and meditation for young adults, and regional cultural activities. According to the Cultural Corps, participants will be able to choose from activity-based programs as well as quieter retreats focused on rest, reflection, and meditation.
Templestay programs in South Korea have become an important part of the country’s Buddhist outreach, offering visitors the opportunity to experience aspects of monastic life, Buddhist practice, temple food, meditation, and traditional Korean culture. Many temples participating in the program are affiliated with the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the largest Buddhist order in South Korea.
This summer’s retreat and leisure programs will make use of South Korea’s mountain, river, and coastal environments. Among the participating temples, Naksansa will offer a surfing templestay that combines surfing lessons with wave meditation. Ssanggyesa will run a program combining rafting on the Seomjingang River with a mountain temple experience. Other programs include yacht sailing at Yakcheonsa, scuba diving at Gwaneumsa, and water-based activities at Baekdamsa, Munsuam Temple, and Seonunsa.
The Cultural Corps said a number of temples would also offer programs for children, young people, and families during the school holiday period. Magoksa, Tongdosa, Naewonjeongsa, and Mugaksa will run children’s summer Buddhist schools and mountain temple camps. Beopjusa, Eunhaesa, Naesosa, and Daeheungsa will host traditional cultural experience programs designed for family participation.
Temple programs aimed at young adults will focus on rest, healing, and reflection. Yongheungsa and Daewonsa will run special summer break programs for people in their 20s and university students. Yongyeonsa and Gwaneumsa will offer programs intended to help young people experience rest and healing in natural surroundings.
Meditation and Buddhist practice will also be central to the summer offerings. Songgwangsa will conduct seated, walking, and lying meditation. Cheongnyangsa will offer a practice program based on the threefold training of precepts, concentration, and wisdom. Yonghwasa, Buddha Seonwon, the International Seon Center, and Dogapsa will provide opportunities for participants to reflect on body and mind through forms of practice including Seon meditation and tea meditation.
Several programs will highlight regional culture and the distinctive character of individual temples. Yongmunsa will offer a temple food experience, while Songgwangsa in Wanju will host a traditional hanji paper-making program. Seogosa will run a “cample-stay,” combining camping with templestay activities. Seonamsa will offer fire gazing and barefoot walking on red clay paths, while Hwaeomsa will host a mosquito net concert. Seokbulsa will hold a book concert and a special templestay for photographers.
“This special summer program goes beyond simple travel. It is a dedicated window for individuals to restore both body and mind within the sanctuary of nature and temple heritage,” said Ven. Ilhwa, director of the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism. “We hope visitors will cool down from the suffocating summer heat in our mountain temples and discover the exact type of rest they require.” (The Korea Times)
Detailed schedules, program information, and reservation options are available through the official Templestay website.
See more
From Surfing to Meditation: Summer Templestay at 50 Temples (Seoul Economic Daily)
Korea’s temples reinvent summer vacation with surfing, scuba, meditation (The Korea Times)
Templestay
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