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Latest update: 21 January 2026
At 3:45 AM, I wake up to my alarm. Voluntarily, yes. I put on my temple outfit and walk through the cold to the main temple, where the monks are already praying. Welcome to my temple stay in South Korea. It’s something you really need to experience in South Korea.
What is a temple stay?
A temple stay is exactly what you think: you stay one or more nights in a Buddhist temple and join the monks’ daily rhythm. Think morning prayers, meditation, vegetarian food, and sleeping on a futon mattress. It’s a way to disconnect from everyday life and get a taste of temple life.
Temple stays are popular in South Korea. The program was launched in 2002, and since then, more than 5 million people – both Koreans and foreigners – have had this experience. You’ll find temple stays spread across the country, from bustling Seoul to remote mountain monasteries. They’re accessible to everyone, regardless of faith or nationality. Some people do it out of spiritual interest, others just out of curiosity. And that’s all fine.
How to book a temple stay?
You can’t just show up at a temple and sleep there for a night. There are programs you can reserve through the Templestay website. On this site, you’ll find all temple stay options throughout South Korea. Fair warning: the site isn’t very user-friendly, but with some perseverance, you’ll figure it out. Eventually.
A temple stay usually costs between ₩60,000 and ₩120,000 (about $40-80). But there’s also a special program for foreigners with a lower rate of about ₩30,000 (around $20). This is the “Templestay for Foreigners“. Check the website for the current dates.
Three types of temple stay programs
There are three main types you can choose from:
1. One-day temple stay
A short program of 2-3 hours with a tour, meditation, and a tea ceremony. Perfect if you’re short on time or want to try before committing.
2. Experience-oriented temple stay
You usually stay one night and fully participate in activities such as morning prayers, 108 bows, Buddhist meals, and meditation. The goal is to really experience monastic life.
3. Rest-oriented temple stay
More freedom and less structure. You can set your own pace and mainly find peace in nature. Ideal if you’re primarily looking for relaxation and don’t necessarily want to do all the rituals. This is the program I did – it’s called the “Relaxation Program” at Beomeosa. But honestly, I found it pretty packed.
What do you do during a temple stay?
There are several things that often appear on the program. Each temple gives its own spin to the programs, so pay close attention when booking what you will and won’t be doing.
Yebul (morning and evening prayers)
A day at the temple begins and ends with a ceremony in which monks respectfully bow before Buddha. The chanting and rich sounds of temple bells and drums are meditative and calming.
Cham-Seon (Seon meditation)
Seon is the Korean form of Zen meditation. You learn to let go of all thoughts and fully concentrate on the here and now. Pretty challenging, but also surprisingly calming.
Da-Seon (tea ceremony)
A meditative way of making and drinking tea that engages all your senses. You see the color, smell the aroma, taste the flavor, and feel the warmth of the teacup.
Balwoogongyang (monastic meal)
A traditional way of eating where nothing is wasted. You get bowls with rice and vegetables, and everything is eaten in silence. After the meal, you rinse your bowls with tea and drink it – zero waste.
108 bows
A physical and spiritual exercise where you bow 108 times. The number symbolizes the 108 forms of human suffering. Sounds heavy, but the calm rhythm makes it feel almost like a nice workout.
Temple tour
You learn about the temple’s history, Buddhist symbolism, and architecture. This gives context to everything you experience.
My experience: Beomeosa Temple in Busan
I book the Relaxation Program at Beomeosa Temple in Busan. This is a 1,300-year-old temple located against a mountain. The name literally means “the temple where the fish lands,” a story the guide will explain later during the tour.
The options at Beomeosa
Beomeosa offers two types of programs: the Relaxation Program and the Experience Program. I did the Relaxation Program because I mainly wanted to get acquainted with temple life, and it fit best with my travel schedule.
You can book through the official Templestay website. Like I said: the website isn’t very user-friendly. It takes some searching, but it’s worth persevering!
Reserve early, especially on weekends or during high season. The temple stay at Beomeosa usually only takes place on weekends.
How to get to Beomeosa temple?
From downtown Busan, the temple is easily accessible by public transport:
By metro and bus (recommended):
- Take the metro line 1 (orange line) to Busan East station
- At Busan East: take exit 5 or 7
- Take bus number 90 toward Beomeosa temple (15-20 minutes, you can use your T-Money card)
- Get off at the “Sangma village / Beomeosa Museum” stop
- Walk about 10 minutes uphill to the temple stay building
On foot from the station: You can also walk from the metro station (about 50 minutes), a beautiful route through the forest. Along the way, you’ll pass Jijangam Hermitage, a small temple with a cave shrine.
By taxi: Show this text to the taxi driver: 부산광역시 금정구 상마 1길 20, 선문화교육센터 (Seon-Culture Education Center). The temple stay building is outside the main temple grounds.
Arrival + lunch stop at Beomeosa
At the bus stop near Beomeosa, we first grab some bibimbap and green onion pancake at a small outdoor restaurant. The sweet lady who runs the restaurant is happy with customers on this rainy day and points us toward the Temple Stay.
Checking in at the temple stay
Upon arrival between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, we check in. We get a sleeveless vest, black pants, a pillowcase, a mattress cover, and a duvet cover. You have to make your own bed.
My best friend and I expected to sleep in a large men’s and women’s dormitory, but to our surprise, we get our own room. Yay! We were already dreading it a bit. It’s an empty, square room with a private toilet and a shower. Though you basically stand in the toilet while showering, so we decide to shower at the hotel the next day. We’re only there for a day anyway. Want we keken er al een beetje tegenop. Het is een lege, vierkante ruimte met een eigen toilet waar je ook kunt douchen. Al sta je dan ongeveer in de wc te douchen, dus wij besluiten de dag erna in het hotel te douchen. We zijn er toch maar een dag.
The futon bed is a traditional Japanese mattress – thin, but still reasonably comfortable.
The program: video and tour
After changing clothes and making beds, the program begins. We watch a video about temple stay etiquette: how to bow when entering a temple, how to walk around the grounds. The manager gives a short welcome speech and practical info.
Then follows a tour of the temple grounds. We walk to the temple via a forest path, accompanied by an English-speaking and a Korean-speaking guide.
The four gates
Onze gids vertelt dat de eerste poort bijzonder is: die heeft vier pilaren in plaats van de gebruikelijke twee. Bij de tweede poort staan de tempelbewakers (de vier hemelse koningen) die de tempel beschermen vanuit de verschillende windrichtingen. Elk heeft een eigen voorwerp, zoals een zwaard, een mes of een luit, om kwaadwillenden tegen te houden. De derde poort symboliseert non-dualiteit in het boeddhisme, en de vierde poort is bijzonder omdat er een heel gebouw bovenop staat.
The temple halls
In the main temple (Daeungjeon Hall) stands the Shakyamuni Buddha (the Buddha of the present), on the left the Maitreya (the Buddha of the future), and on the right the Jehwagala (the Buddha of the past), all in the form of bodhisattvas.
To the left of the main hall is Gwaneunjeon Hall, dedicated to Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, who saves all living beings with compassion. To the right of the main hall is a hall dedicated to the mountain god – a remnant of pre-Buddhist traditions. This is the only place where devotees may offer alcohol.
There’s also a small three-tiered stone pagoda that’s relatively small but very valuable, because the stone shows it was built in the late Unified Silla period (about 1,300 years ago). The temple buildings themselves have been rebuilt multiple times over the centuries.
The temple bell and instruments
The guide points out the large temple bell hanging in a separate tower. This is struck during prayers. There’s also a large drum (for animals with hair), a wooden fish (for underwater creatures), and a metal cloud (for flying animals) – each instrument represents a different part of nature.
Evening prayers: uneasy but special
After the tour we eat in a kind of cafeteria. Not very atmospheric, but typical temple food, so vegetarian. What strikes me is that the group of visitors stays pretty much to themselves. Everyone eats alone or in pairs at a separate table. There’s little interaction during the stay in general.
Then we go back to the main temple for evening prayers. And this is where it gets a little uneasy because I don’t know what I’m doing. The prayer has already begun when we enter. One monk is chanting, another is striking the gong. We stand respectfully and bow along with the monks. It’s pretty special to be present, in a place where monks have been praying to Buddha for hundreds of years. But at the same time, it also feels a bit like watching monkeys at the zoo. We don’t understand what the monks are chanting and doing, and just copy them. Isn’t it a bit hypocritical to copy praying in a temple as a non-religious person? I’m unsure.
When the monk indicates it’s finished, we neatly put away our cushion and walk outside. However, the rest of the group stays seated, making us doubt whether we’re doing it right. But it really was finished, right? Another monk is praying now, but it seems more like a personal prayer. We’re confused, haha.
Morning prayers at 4:30 AM
Day two starts early. Very early. At 4:30 AM, we start morning prayers. This is more crowded than the evening prayer, with both monks and local Buddhists in attendance. And again, we leave when the rest still stay longer. It would be nice to get better instructions. It’s pretty awkward now, and we obviously don’t want to be disrespectful to the monks. But we really do interpret the word ‘finished’ as meaning it’s finished.
After the prayer, we can sleep a bit more before breakfast at 7 AM. The food is again vegetarian. Dinner was pretty good, but breakfast isn’t really our thing: kimchi, pickled vegetables, and, for the western guests, a white sandwich with a slice of cheddar cheese in plastic wrap. I’m not complaining, but here’s some expectation management for you.
Meditation lesson with a monk
At 9 AM, there’s a meditation lesson. If you meditate regularly, the lesson is pretty limited, but what makes it interesting is that a monk teaches the lesson. He explains, in Korean and English, how to sit and discusses metta meditation.
We sit for 15 minutes, facing the wall, eyes half-open, without really looking. You have to imagine there’s a little fire or heat source inside you that keeps growing bigger.
That’s a simple meditation for us, he explains, but it’s not really practiced in South Korea. That is a shame. I would have preferred to do a meditation that they actually practice in the temple.
Cleaning up the room like a monk
After meditation, we clean up the room. We even have to mop the floor with a roller, but that’s actually more for the experience, the monk tells us. The rooms will be properly cleaned after we leave. But because monks’ rooms are also always temporary and they also clean their room for the next resident, you get a bit of the practice.
If you want, you can then visit the museum. We skip that because we’re walking around with our big backpacks, and that’s not very convenient in a museum.
What does a temple stay cost?
A temple stay at Beomeosa costs about ₩70,000 per person for the Relaxation Program (that’s about €50 or $55). The Experience Program is a bit more expensive, but it also offers more activities.
This includes:
- Vegetarian breakfast and dinner
- Sleeping place with bedding
- Uniform (pants and vest)
- Temple tour
- Meditation lesson
- Participation in prayers and ceremonies
There’s also a special program for foreigners with specific dates and a reduced rate of about ₩30,000 (around $20). This is called “Templestay for Foreigners“. Check the website for current dates.
Compared to a hotel room, this is incredibly affordable for such a unique cultural experience.
What to bring to a temple stay?
Definitely bring:
- Toiletries (soap and toothpaste are provided at ours, but bring your own stuff to be safe)
- Towel (you don’t always get one there)
- Comfortable clothing to wear under your uniform
- Socks
- Water bottle
Handy to bring:
- Warm layers, even in summer (it can get cold at night in the mountains)
- Power bank
- Sleepwear
- Camera (but respect the rules during ceremonies)
- Small notebook if you want to remember things
Other temple stays in South Korea
If you’re not in Busan or looking for a different kind of experience, there are plenty of alternatives. South Korea has more than 100 temples that offer a temple stay program.
I chose Beomeosa because it pairs well with a visit to Busan and is one of the more accessible temples for beginners. The temple is beautifully located in the mountains, but still easily accessible.
You can find all available temple stays on the official Templestay website. Not all temples offer English-language programs, so check this beforehand.
Is a temple stay worth it?
Yes and no. It depends on your expectations.
What makes it difficult is that the stay is too short to really immerse yourself in Buddhism. The explanation is brief, and contact with the monks is limited. It sometimes feels uncomfortable and maybe even a bit inappropriate to participate in prayers you don’t understand.
But at the same time, it’s also a unique chance to experience this. To get up early in the morning and pray in a temple that’s 1,300 years old. To disconnect from everyday life for a while and experience what it’s like to live as a monk, even if it’s just for one night.
So yes, I found it interesting. But don’t expect a spiritual transformation in 24 hours. See it mainly as a cultural experience where you catch a glimpse of monastic life.
Frequently asked questions about temple stays
No, everyone is welcome regardless of faith or nationality. It’s more about the cultural experience than religion. Most participants in my group aren’t Buddhist.
That varies per temple and program. At Beomeosa, morning prayers were at 4:30 AM. Some temples start as early as 3:30 AM. But you can also stay in bed if you don’t feel like it; nobody forces you.
Yes, all food in the temple is vegetarian. Often even vegan. Also, no onions or garlic, because, according to Buddhist tradition, that makes your mind restless.
That depends on the temple and program. Some temples accept children, others don’t. Check this in advance on the website. The early-morning wake-up and long periods of silence can be challenging for young children.
Yes, but put it on silent and don’t use it during ceremonies or meals. Sometimes there’s wifi available. The intention is to put the phone away as much as possible to fully experience it.
No, most activities are optional. But if you’ve paid for the program, you’re expected to participate in most of it. And that’s why you’re here anyway, right?!
Yes, on the temple grounds. During ceremonies, only with the monks’ permission. Often, it’s not allowed with flash anyway. When in doubt, just ask.
Not at all temples. So pay close attention when booking. If the program is described in English, there’s probably someone present who speaks English.
Sometimes you can pay for the stay in advance by bank transfer, otherwise you have to pay cash on site. Maybe bring some extra for snacks at the bus station, but you don’t need anything else on the temple grounds.
Absolutely! Many participants come alone. It varies by temple whether you get your own room or have to share.
More South Korea inspiration
Useful links for your South Korea trip
- Accommodation. Always handy is Booking.com, but compare prices. Trip is often much cheaper in South Korea. Rather stay in a hostel? Try HostelWorld.
- Activities. You can book the best tours and activities with GetYourGuide, Klook and Viator. You can book ‘free’ walking tours at Freetour and cool food tours at Secret Food Tours.
- Attractions and museums. For 5% off museums and attractions, use discount code KIMOPREIS22 at Tiqets.
- Car rental. Compare your options at Discover Cars and Rentalcars.com.
- Flights. Compare all your options! Be sure to check Expedia, Kiwi and Trip.
- Guide books. I love the practical guides by Lonely Planet, for sale at Amazon.
- Package deals. Rather go on a catered trip? Check out your options at Expedia and CheapOair for example.
- SIM card. Beware of unexpectedly high phone and internet costs. Buy a local SIM card when you arrive, or arrange one online via Airalo. Use the code THISIS8469 for a discount.
- Train and bus. Buy your train tickets directly on the Korail site and intercity buses also directly via this site. Some trips can also be booked on
Klook or via12Go . For local transport in the city, you use a T-Money card.
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