Temple Stay Part 1: Wellness and Mindfulness Escape in Korea

Soft morning light over a Korean mountain temple courtyard prepared for temple stay guests

Early morning at a Korean mountain temple. Lanterns, tiled roofs and
that quiet before the day properly begins.

There is a specific moment in adult life. Usually after juggling work, family chats, dinner plans, TikTok spirals, and someone asking “Can you just jump on a quick call?” when you suddenly think

“I need to disappear for a bit.”

Not forever. Just long enough to reset the part of your brain that has been running on low battery for the last… two years? Ten? Who knows anymore.

Seoul does not really help with that feeling. I love this city. It is fast and exciting and full of things to do. That is exactly why you sometimes forget what your own breathing sounds like. Everyone around you is thriving, hustling, glowing, multitasking, and pretending the exhaustion is aesthetic.

And then, randomly, my foreign friend from London sends me a message.

She used to work in the magazine world. Proper glamorous chaos. She burned out so hard she left for India, learned yoga, travelled across countries, and somehow landed in Mallorca teaching CEOs how to breathe again. She is one of those people who can sense your stress through a text message.

Her voice note said:
“Have you ever done a temple stay in Korea? You need it.”

It was slightly embarrassing that a foreigner was reminding me about something so deeply Korean. But she is usually right about everything related to burnout and healing. So I listened.

And that is how I found myself looking up temple stays not as “content research” or “maybe I should write about this later” but as someone genuinely craving quiet. Actual quiet. The kind that feels like a long exhale.

Temple Stay Basics: Prices, Timing and Temple Food Background

Price
Most temple stays cost ₩60,000–₩70,000 for 1 night 2 days and around ₩100,000–₩120,000 for 2 nights 3 days. Experience programmes are slightly higher, while weekday rest programmes can be cheaper.
Best Time To Go
Spring: flowers, soft weather, ideal for first timers.
Autumn: famous mountain colours and perfect temperatures.
Winter: peaceful and quiet but cold.
Summer: lush scenery, best for ocean temples like 낙산사 (Naksansa Temple).
Temple Food Background
Korean temple cuisine avoids garlic, onion and other stimulating ingredients (often called the “five pungent vegetables”) to calm the senses for meditation. It is plant based, seasonal and prepared slowly. You take only what you can finish, eat in silence and wash your own bowl as part of mindful eating culture.
How to book a temple stay
The easiest way is through the official Templestay website, which has English and Korean booking pages. Some larger temples also allow booking directly on their own sites, so it is worth checking both.

Note before we start. For this post, I am not pretending I have visited every temple in Korea. No one has. What I am sharing is a mix of my own experiences, places I have been, temples my friends swear by, and stories from foreign travellers who came to Korea specifically for this kind of healing. Think of this series as a curated conversation rather than a checklist.

The unexpected magic of temple stays

The funny thing is. Temple stays were never marketed as wellness retreats. They existed long before mindfulness apps, digital detox, or silent retreats in Bali became trendy. But somehow they became the answer everyone was secretly looking for.

Foreigners describe temple stays as this blend of ancient tradition, minimalist beauty, clean air, and gentle structure. Koreans describe them as the one place where their mind shuts up long enough for them to hear themselves again.

For me, it was the first time in years that silence felt like a soft blanket, not a punishment.

Temple stays slow you down automatically. You eat slowly. Walk slowly. Think slowly. Even swallow slowly. Your phone signal disappears somewhere between the mountain road and the temple gate. Almost symbolic, like Korea saying:

“Shh. Just be here.”

Choosing a style: rest vs experience

When you book, they ask you to choose between 휴식형 (rest) or 체험형 (experience). The names sound stiff, but the difference is actually simple.

Guest in beige temple stay uniform resting quietly in a wooden hanok style room

In a rest type programme you get quiet rooms, mountain air and slow time
so your body and mind can finally exhale.

휴식형(rest) is for people like me. Tired but still functioning adults who want to lie down in a quiet room without their phone buzzing every five minutes. It is peaceful and spacious and feels like your brain finally got a holiday.

Temple stay participants taking part in experience activities such as bowing and group practice in a courtyard

In an experience type programme you can try things like 108 bows, meditation
and bell ringing that you never do in daily life.

체험형(experience). is for the curious ones. The people who want to try 108 bows, ring a giant drum, fold lotus lanterns, chant at dawn, or copy monks’ slow, steady walking meditation. It is fun in a “wow, my life is usually so noisy” kind of way.

I have experienced both styles at different moments in my life. For Part 1, the wellness chapter, let us stay with the restful kind. The kind where you stare at a pine tree for twenty minutes and think, “Maybe this is what happiness feels like.”

Temple food. Surprisingly emotional

Simple Korean temple food with seasonal vegetable dishes and rice served in metal bowls on a low table

Temple food shows how deep flavour can be without garlic or onion. Sitting in silence and
eating slowly becomes strangely emotional.

I did not expect temple food to change anything in my life.

But something happens when you sit on the floor with a simple wooden bowl, no phone, no music, no conversation, and food made with intention rather than seasoning.

Temple cuisine avoids garlic and onion because they “excite the senses” and suddenly you realise how overstimulated your life normally is. The flavours are gentle, earthy, and calming. You take what you can finish and you finish everything you take. Then you wash your own bowl. Slowly.

It is almost funny how emotional it gets when you are not rushing.

Foreigners often say the same thing:
“You taste food differently when you are not performing life.”

The hour that stays with you

Ask anyone who has done a temple stay. Korean or foreign. Their favourite moment is almost always the same.

“After sunset.”

Right after the tourists go home, when the temple grounds empty out. When the sky turns navy blue and lanterns begin to glow. When the mountain cools, the air becomes soft, and you suddenly hear the world settle.

You sit on a bench, wrapped in that beige cotton uniform they give you, and you realise your breathing has changed. Slower. Softer. Kinder. Like your body is exhaling the exhaustion you forgot you were carrying.

That moment. More than the chanting, more than the meditation, more than the 108 bows. That is the reason people keep coming back.

So… where should you go for your first wellness stay?

I will keep it honest and simple. Not a list. Just vibes. Collected from me, my friends, locals I trust, and travellers who have done these programmes more than once.

Geumsunsa temple nestled in the mountains above Seoul with city views in the distance

From central Seoul you can reach Geumsunsa quickly by bus, but once you arrive
it feels like a proper mountain retreat.

If you want the easiest entry point:
금선사 (Geumsunsa). It is in Seoul but feels like you climbed out of the city without breaking a sweat. The view alone resets your nervous system.

Hwaeomsa temple surrounded by deep green forest and mountain slopes in Korea

At Hwaeomsa the forest paths and mountain scenery do most of the healing.
Just walking through the temple grounds calms you down.

If you want nature to hug you:
화엄사 (Hwaeomsa). The mountain energy here is deep. Forest trails. Fresh air. Calming in a grounding, old soul way.

Naksansa temple perched above the East Sea with a large seaside Buddha statue and waves below

Naksansa is famous for wave meditation, where you sit above
the East Sea and let the sound of the surf do the talking.

If the ocean heals you:
낙산사 (Naksansa). Wave meditation is literally sound therapy, nature version.

Illustrated view of Golgulsa temple perched on a stone terrace in the autumn forest, with colourful leaves and rocky cliffs in rural Korea

Golgulsa in autumn. A cliffside temple wrapped in golden forest
where martial arts practice meets quiet mountain air.

If your body needs movement therapy:
골굴사 (Golgulsa). Foreigners love it. Think martial arts, mindfulness, and caves.

Each place has its own personality. Just like people.

What the wellness begins to change

Something happens after a day or two. You stop chasing time. Your brain stops sprinting. Your body stops negotiating with stress.

I remember standing outside before sunrise, breath turning into small clouds in the cold air, thinking:

“I did not come here to find myself. But somehow, I feel closer to myself.”

That is the beauty of temple stays. They do not teach you how to live. They simply give you space to feel your life again.

Part 2 is coming next: The Aesthetic and Architectural Magic of Temple Stays.
Think golden light, old wood, curved roofs, hidden paths, early morning fog, and temples that look like living paintings.