My Complete Guide to the Bongeunsa TempleStay Experience

A Templestay Experience in Seoul is one of the most unique cultural experiences you can partake in when visiting Seoul. If you're lucky enough to include this in your South Korea itinerary, I highly encourage you to read through this post to make the best of your time there and know exactly what to expect and what to pack with you. Bongeunsa Temple is located right in the heart of Seoul, and this is hands down one of my favorite experiences in all of Korea.

My Essential Korea Travel Resources :
​There are a lot of travel companies out there, but some are better than others. After traveling to South Korea over a dozen times, these are my favorite websites and resources to help plan an incredible trip.

For flights, I recommend using WayAway or Hopper to compare the cheapest dates to travel to South Korea.

Car rentals, although not common in Korea, are best through Discover Cars - just make sure to have a copy of your international driver's permit with you!

I always use AGODA for hotels. They have an easy-to-use platform and tend to focus on the Asia-Pacific region.

To keep cell phone service, I always use Airalo’s easy to purchase eSIM’s (no installation required).

For fun things to do, Klook specializes on tours in Asia, otherwise Viator also does the trick.

Just in case, Safetywing is the insurance I always use when visiting a new country.

Lastly, my essential packing list when traveling.

How to Book Your Templestay Experience & What to Expect

Booking your Bongeunsa Templestay experience is quite easy. You can simply head to the Templestay Reservation Website and choose the dates you'd like. The English Templestay Program is held over the first weekend of each month, from 2pm on Saturday until 11am on Sunday. The cost is 120,000 Won per person, and although they encourage you to pay online you can also pay with cash at check in.

Overall, there's a lot to expect from the Templestay program. All of your meals are included, and although it's frowned upon to leave leftovers, you can always grab a smaller plate and then go back up for more. During your Templestay experience you'll be asked to wear the orange uniforms and slippers while inside the buildings, so I recommend easy shoes to slip on and off each time you enter/exit a building. You're "bed time" is quite early, but you'll appreciate it when you get up at 4 am the next morning. I've listed a complete schedule breakdown below so you can know what to expect, but overall I would say this is an incredible and unique experience you won't want to miss out on during your visit to Seoul.

There are a few things you'll need to bring with you for your Templestay experience, including comfortable walking shoes that are easy to slip on and off, a refillable water bottle, any toiletries like shampoo and conditioner, and towels for your use.

During your Templestay, there are a few "rules" or "expectations" you'll be asked to follow during your stay. These are as follows :

• When you see a Sunim (monk), half bow by putting your palms together.
• Drinking and smoking are not allowed.
• Silence is recommended inside the temple.
• Please be punctual.
• When moving around, follow your program leader and stay in a line.
• During meal times, please try not to leave food - only put enough on your plate to eat.
• Do not disturb other participants during your break time.
• If sharing a room with other participants, please be aware of cell phone calls or watching videos.
• When checking out, please clean your room and return any clothes and bedding to the program leader. Put trash in a bag and put it outside the front door.

My Favorite Tours near Gangnam : 
- Minsokchon Korean Folk Village
- Kimchi Making & Gyeongbokgung Palace​

An Overview of the Templestay Schedule

Day 1 Program :
At 2:00 pm you'll begin the check in process. If you haven't paid yet, you'll be asked to pay in cash as you check in. Then you'll be brought inside, where you'll wait for all participants to arrive while the program leader passes out uniforms for your stay and welcomes you with a cup of Sikhye (식혜), a Korean rice punch drink.

Around 3:00 pm, after everyone checks into their rooms and has a chance to change, you'll be led around the temple grounds on a guided tour. You'll learn the history of the temple, like how it was moved from Busan, and basic temple etiquette.

From 4:00 pm onwards you'll be led through a variety of temple activities. From the Traditional Tea Ceremony where you'll learn traditional Korean tea etiquette, to the Sutra Gold Ink experience where you'll trace traditional Korean Buddhist sayings in gold ink - you'll eventually be brought to your first meal at the temple. Like I mentioned above, you'll be asked to only grab what you'll eat so that you don't leave leftovers, and before you eat you'll say a short Buddhist prayer. Our meals were very traditional, and consisted of rice, tofu, different vegetables (banchan) like kimchi and seaweed soup.

After dinner, you'll experience your first Yebul ceremony inside the main temple, and then have a long discussion/guided meditation with a monk. During this time, you'll be able to ask questions you have about Buddhism, and be taught how to meditate. At 9:00 pm it'll be lights out for your early morning tomorrow!

Day 2 Program :
At 4:20 am, bright and early, your Templestay Experience will continue with a Yebul ceremony at the main temple. Afterwards you'll experience the 108 Vows, a daily ritual for practicing Buddhists and monks. For each vow, you'll also perform a full bow - but if you feel like you can't complete all 108 bows you can sit or stand in the back of the room.

After the bows you'll have a short break time, then be brought to breakfast - which had the same dishes and expectations as dinner. Afterwards, you'll have a bit more free time to explore the temple grounds with hardly any other visitors around - a rarity in Seoul. This is a great time to enjoy the peace and quiet of the temple grounds, and if you're in a rush to head somewhere afterwards, to clean up your room and pack your things.

Around 9:00 am you'll have your last Templestay Experience activity, a final tea time with the monk you met last night. He'll lead you through a quick, personal tea experience, where you can chat with him and ask him any more questions you have about him, Buddha, or Buddhism. From 10:00 am to 11:00 am you'll be able to clean up, check out, and finish up the survey you were asked to take. Don't forget to take any of your gifts and souvenirs you've been given during your experience!

Watch my Templestay Experience here!

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Other Korea blog posts you might be interested in : 
-> My Color Analysis Experience in Seoul
-> The Han River Sunset Cruise

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