the temple stay

Something I have had on my 'to-do-before-I-die' list for a very long period of time has finally been ticked off. That is, live with Buddhist monks at a temple hidden deep within the mountains. Living may be a slight exaggeration (I stayed for just one night and two days), but although the time I spent here was brief, I can firmly say that I have extracted exactly what I needed to out of this experience.

 With a country that is advancing and urbanising as fast as South Korea, it is hard to picture that beautiful places like this are still in existence. However, due to a population of people who have a deep sense of pride and respect for their nation and its history, these hidden gems are actually quite abundant. Koreans work hard to preserve their heritage. 

There are a vast selection of temples that you can choose to stay at, and from what I was told from a temple regular, each temple has its own speciality. You choose which temple to stay at based on the type of experience you want to have. Myself and my friends visited the Golgulsa Temple (골굴사), a place that specialises in the martial art Sunmudo. The schedule consisted of some brief (but challenging) Sunmudo training, a silent meditation meal and a not so great 4am wake up call. 

The temple stay cost a very reasonable 50,000 KRW, and I believe that this is pretty much the average going rate for a one night/two day stay. Food, accommodation and activities are all inclusive in this price, as is the ever so fabulous temple ensemble ;)