▲ The participants in the temple stay are committed to meditation. There are many non-Koreans that are interested in Korea's Buddhist culture that emphasizes medi-tation and cultivation, and in joining the temple stay to look for the meaning of life.

With a history of 1,000 years, the Magok Buddhist Temple in Gongju welcomes a group of special guests armed with a rather different mindset every Saturday. The guests disappear following the priests and come back in a priest’s robe in grey. Their purpose here is to participate in the weekend temple stay program open to the general population. Their special journey of one night and two days starts by their changing into a grey clerical robe and white rubber shoes.

Zen-Buddhist Meditation, the Shortcut to Awakening
The temple stay program has long hours of “Zen-Buddhist meditation,” which is regarded as the highest form of cultivation in Buddhism and known as the best shortcut to awakening. The very first event of the program is “I Am a Happy Person” for Zen-Buddhist meditation. The priest explains that it’s time to look at oneself positively and find one’s true ego and initiates Zen-Buddhist meditation. As time passes by, the guests start to feel changes to both body and mind little by little. When they realize how much they have and how happy they can be, they are amazed at themselves.

▲ It's three in the morning. With the drumbeats to wake up all creatures, another day starts at the Buddhist temple in the mountain.

Bowing Lowers Me.
The temple deep in the mountain starts its day at the sound of the drum at three in the morning. The guests wake from a short sleep, feel their heavy bodies, and find themselves in a rather unhappy mood. However, they soon regain their stability at the drum beats that have been sounding for long.
After the earning morning service, the time for 108 bows has come. Bowing is an act of clearing one’s mind and lowering oneself to a humble attitude. As they continue to bow, their clothes are soaked in sweat and their legs feel heavy. But the end of the 108 bows seems ahead.
Now another day of worldly life will resume when they go out into the world again. But they will find out that the mountains and trees feel different once they climb down the mountain. And they will get to appreciate another day of routine life, which they used to have before the temple stay.

Attracting Foreign Tourists with the Temple Stay

▲ A group of Japanese tourists experienced the culture of Magok Buddhist Temple and enjoyed the concert of Kim Min-jong, a Korean singer famous in Japan.

On October 24, 2009, a group of 80 Japanese tourists participated in the temple stay program at the Magok Buddhist Temple, Gongju, Chungnam. Along with the experiences the program presented, they enjoyed a mini concert of Kim Min-jong, a popular singer of Korea. A spokesperson of the temple said, “We’re going to make active efforts to develop and run diverse programs to experience Buddhist culture so that in addition to the believers, even foreign tourists can have a pleasant time at the quiet temple beyond its religious purposes.”
The event was held as part of the cultural tourism product developed by Chungnam to attract more Japanese tourists and promote the Buddhist culture among them. Thanks to the combination of a popular Korea star’s fan meeting and traditional Korean culture, the program received positive evaluations including one in which it fully promoted the charms of Chungnam.