K-Temple Stay... A Special One-Night, Two-Day Experience at Seonamsa in Suncheon

A Great Opportunity for International Students
to Experience Korean Temple Culture
through World Heritage Utilization

Suncheon City is conducting a project utilizing K-Temple Stay for international students. Photo by Suncheon City

On April 30, Suncheon City (Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu) announced that, in celebration of Family Month in May, it will hold a world heritage utilization program for international students at Seonamsa, a thousand-year-old temple, to offer them special memories.

This project is part of a public contest by the National Heritage Administration and will be conducted as a K-Temple Stay program under the theme "A Thousand-Year-Old World Heritage Temple Seonamsa in Multiple Languages." It has been designed not only to highlight the historical and cultural value of the World Heritage Seonamsa but also to widely promote Korean temple culture both domestically and internationally.

During this program, a professional guide will vividly share stories about Korean temple culture and Seonamsa in English. Participants will also have the opportunity to enjoy tea and conversations about temple culture with a monk, and to take part in a Buddhist ceremony at the Daeungjeon Hall. This one-night, two-day program will provide a valuable opportunity to experience Korean temple culture firsthand.

The program will be held a total of four times (May 10-11, 11-12, 17-18, and 18-19). Applications are open from April 29 to May 7, and 12 participants will be selected for each session. The program is open to international students currently studying in Korea, and participation is free of charge.

In addition, participants will receive a commemorative gift to remember their World Heritage Seonamsa K-Temple Stay experience, and a special prize will be awarded to the student who most romantically captures the essence of Korean temple culture in a photo contest.

A city official stated, "We hope that, in celebration of Family Month in May, international students studying far from home will have a special time to fully experience the warmth of Korean temple culture during their unique one-night, two-day stay at the thousand-year-old Seonamsa."