Most pictures we now associate with Korea are the shining bright lights of Seoul and Namsan Tower, or the beautiful mountains that span across the entire country. What a lot of people don’t get to see is the more traditional country or rural towns that centre around the Buddhist temples. And, as anyone who has visited and stayed in a Buddhist temple will tell you, it is surely not an experience you will regret.
Pro’s of Korean Templestay
It’s all super easy to organise, which is a major advantage. If you are residing in Seoul, there are several just outside the city. Just pick the scenery you want to wake up to at 4am in the morning and you’re all set. The type of experience is also extremely authentic with ample opportunity for you to take part in every aspect of life in a Buddhist temple.
Con’s of Korean temple stay
Whilst most temples accommodate foreigners, it is rare for the rural temples to have a host that speaks any English. For those who are not yet fluent or well equipped in their Korean language skills, this may be a bit of an obstacle. My personal recommendation would be to go with someone who is either a Korean domestic or is confident in speaking the language. Also, if you are not an early morning person you may find getting up early for meditations quite hard.
For more information, check out the Templestay info page.
Also, if you want to see a more personal account of staying in a Korean Buddhist temple you can check out the link below, which will take you to a video I uploaded on my YouTube channel about my weekend in a temple.
Elise Stevenson
Latest posts by Elise Stevenson (see all)
- Get a Traditional Korean Templestay Experience - August 26, 2014
- Going Solo in Korea - May 27, 2014
- Why you need a Korea University Buddy Assistant - May 14, 2014