Three offerings of South Korea that are as unique as they are unforgettable; experiencing calmness at a Templestay or a Hanok Stay (traditional Korean house) or simply exploring nature by walking through healing forests and trails.
You are guaranteed to find incomparable peace – both externally and within – after these experiences.
Stay in a Korean Hanok
These traditional Korean houses are built in a specific architectural style designed to maintain balance with the surrounding environment (mountains, lakes, space, land contours) and are constructed using elements such as long curved roofs and alternating ondol and maru flooring that help keep the home warm in the winters and cool in the summers.
Recently, hanok houses have become very trendy as not only are they historical and beautiful, they are also very eco-friendly and sustainable using natural building materials (wood, clay, paper, stone) and harnessing natural resources such as the sun for heating.
The wonderful thing about a hanok stay is that there is something for everyone to do; kids can enjoy the surroundings aplenty with nature and beauty and traditional games. Mealtimes are so much fun as the food spread is diverse & enthralling and you learn so much about Korean culture just through how they cook and present and eat food.
Tea rituals are also as educative as they are calming to the mind. ‘Dado (tea ceremony)’ is one of the oldest customs in Korea that involves the process of boiling and serving tea. Traditional tea clears the body and mind, and the ceremony focuses on spiritual awakening which symbolizes purification, absorption, and meditation.
To enjoy a profound adventure with your loved ones, experience a Hanok stay in South Korea, and cherish a memory of a lifetime!
Templestays
Through a templestay, you find an immense calm and inner happiness that readies you to face life’s most challenging aspects. As most Korean temples are located in the mountains surrounded by peaceful greenery, participating in a temple stay is a wonderful way to rejuvenate your soul and body.
What is a Templestay?
Templestay is a unique cultural program which lets you experience the life of Buddhist practitioners at traditional temples which preserved the 1700-year-old history of Korean Buddhism; yes, you read that right!
A short templestay including chanting, meditation, conversation over tea, Buddhist meals; will give you a new perspective on your life. It may be just the experience you need to release all pent-up emotions that have pervaded your life force during an unprecedented difficult phase.
In most temples in Korea, you must cross a bridge above a small stream, signifying the separation between the secular world and Buddha’s world.
An overview of the Templestay Program
Each temple will design its own program and activities based on its unique location and particular spiritual focus. Most programs start with a tour of the temple and includes learning about Buddhist rituals such as yebul (ceremonial service), gongyang (monastic meal), bae (108 bows), chadam (conversations with a monk over tea), and a walk in the forest.
- YEBUL: ‘Yebul’ is the most important event in the daily routine of Korean temples, with people paying their respects to the Buddha enshrined in the Dharma hall. Officially, yebul begins with Do Ryang Seok, cleansing of the temple, but for templestay participants, yebul begins with the beating of beopgo, the temple drum.
- BAE: The most fulfilling yet most difficult part of the templestay is the 108 bae or prostrations. Similar to 108 chants in Hinduism. Why 108? It is a sacred number and the Buddha categorized humankind’s agony into 108 sections- so to remove all the agony one by one- 108 prostrations are required.
- CHAMESON- ZEN MEDITATION: One of the true joys of a temple stay is the chance to clear your mind and spend time simply being. Zen is known as ‘seon’ in Korean. There are two forms of meditation that you can choose from, which are ‘jwaseon (seated meditation)’ and ‘haengseon (walking meditation)’
- GONGYANG- MONASTIC MEAL: Gongyang means offering food or necessary items to one’s parents, teacher or neighbor with a respectful mind. In a Buddhist temple it simply means offering a prepared meal. Because Buddhist monks do not eat meat or five pungent herbs including garlic, green onion, leek, chives etc, all the meals are made based on vegetables. It is essential to only take as much as you can eat, avoid speaking while eating, and washing the dishes after finishing everything on your plate.
- CHADAM -TEA CEREMONY: Many templestay programs include a traditional tea ceremony, during which a monk teaches you the formal rites for making tea. Oftentimes, the tea ceremony also incorporates a dialogue with the monk, where you are free to ask and answer questions. This is another truly liberating experience which will leave a lasting memory in your being.
Most official Templestay programs last for one or two days, including an overnight. During this time, you are completely immersed in the monastic lifestyle, right down to the simple comfy cotton uniform you’re expected to wear throughout the stay. You are expected to comply with the temple’s etiquette.
You are usually offered a choice of activities designed to harness spiritual concentration.
There are dozens Buddhist temples which are part of Temple- stay an official program that allows visitors to participate in monastic Buddhist life for short stays.
Take a walk and admire the blissful nature
Nothing clears the mind and heals the soul better than the sunlight peeking through trees and resplendent forests that radiate their healing magic. The air is clean and pure. And with each step you can sense you are closer to finding your true self than you ever imagined! As an extension of nature walks, South Korea, offers a plethora of breath-taking parks and forests where you can wander and lose yourself. There is a focus on preserving the ecology and with that underlying theme, gardening and other eco-friendly activities are plentiful.
