Program structure and pricing verified 10 August 2026. Always confirm current dates and rates on the official site.
Templestay is not a tourist re-enactment. It is an official program, coordinated nationally by the Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism, in which working temples open their guest quarters to visitors. You sleep on the temple floor, eat what the monastics eat, and follow their schedule — which begins earlier than you think.
Selected temples run programs with English support. This guide covers how to tell which ones, and what you are agreeing to.
Two program types — pick this first
Almost every temple offers one or both. They are genuinely different experiences.
| Experience-focused | Rest-focused | |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule | Fixed, guided, full | Mostly your own |
| Typical activities | Chanting service, seated meditation, 108 prostrations, tea with a monk, temple tour | Meals and services optional; walking, reading, sitting |
| Guidance | A monastic or coordinator leads the group | Minimal; you are given a room and a schedule you may ignore |
| Suits | First-timers, people who want to learn the forms | People who want silence, repeat visitors |
| English support | More likely, because the program is guided | Less needed — there is less to explain |
If you have never done this, take the experience program. The rest-focused version is quiet to the point of being disorienting if you do not already know what to do with the time.
A typical night, hour by hour
Schedules vary, but the shape is consistent:
- Mid-afternoon — arrive, register, change into the loose temple uniform you are lent
- Late afternoon — temple tour and orientation, basic etiquette (how to bow, when to be silent)
- Early evening — evening chanting service in the main hall, then a meal
- Evening — the main activity: meditation, tea with a monastic, or the 108 prostrations
- Around 21:00 — lights out. This is not a suggestion.
- Around 03:30–04:30 — wake-up bell, then the dawn chanting service
- Morning — meditation or a walk, then barugongyang, the formal monastic meal
- Late morning — closing talk, change back, leave
The two things visitors consistently underestimate: the wake-up time is real, and there is no meaningful phone use. Both are the point.
Barugongyang — the formal meal
This is the part people remember. You are given a nested set of four bowls and served in silence. You take only what you will finish, because at the end you clean each bowl with water and a piece of radish or pickle, and then drink the water. Nothing is left. Nothing is discarded.
It is not a test and nobody will shame you, but it does explain the tradition better than any talk could.
The 108 prostrations
A full prostration is standing, kneeling, forehead to the floor, and back up. One hundred and eight of them, usually while threading a bead onto a string for each one, so you leave with a mala you made.
It takes roughly 30–40 minutes and your legs will tell you about it the next day. Temples do not require it — if you have knee or back problems, say so at registration and you will be given an alternative.
Temples with English programs
Roughly 140 temples across Korea run Templestay programs, and around 30 of them offer English-language instruction. That is a large enough number that you do not need to compromise on location — but small enough that you cannot assume any given temple qualifies.
A starting shortlist:
- Jogyesa (Seoul) — central Seoul, the head temple of the Jogye Order. Easiest logistics of any option; least remote in feel.
- Bongeunsa (Seoul) — in Gangnam, opposite the COEX complex. The contrast between the temple grounds and the skyline is the experience.
- Golgulsa (Gyeongju) — known for Sunmudo, a Korean Buddhist martial art. The most physically active program in the country.
- Beomeosa (Busan) — mountainside temple above Busan, substantial grounds.
- Haeinsa (Hapcheon) — home of the Tripitaka Koreana woodblocks, a UNESCO World Heritage listing.
Which temples run English programs, and on which dates, changes through the year. Always confirm on the official booking site rather than on a blog — including this one.
Cost — and the discount most guides have not caught up with
The standard rate is roughly 70,000–150,000 KRW per person per night, including meals, bedding, and the temple uniform. Rest-focused programs sit at the lower end; programs with specialised activities sit higher.
But there is a foreigner rate. The Jogye Order has been running a discounted program for foreign visitors at a set of popular temples — around 30,000 KRW per night at roughly twenty temples including Jogyesa, Beomeosa, Magoksa and Hwagyesa. Most English-language guides still quote the full rate.
This is worth checking before you book anything else, because at 30,000 KRW a night the calculation changes entirely — it is cheaper than a hostel bed, and it is the same program.
The temple list and the rate are set by the program, not by us, and both change. Confirm on the official site before you plan around it.
What to bring, and what not to
Bring: modest clothing for arrival and departure, socks (you are indoors and shoeless constantly), toiletries, a light layer — mountain temples are colder at 04:00 than the forecast suggests.
Leave: shorts and sleeveless tops, alcohol, meat, strong perfume, and any plan involving your phone.
How to book
Book through the official program site: eng.templestay.com. It has a full English interface and lists each temple’s program types, dates, and English availability. That is where the foreigner rate appears, and it is the only source we would rely on for which temples are running English programs this month.
Individual temples occasionally take direct bookings, but the central site is the reliable route and there is no price advantage to going around it.
Book two to four weeks ahead for weekends and for the better-known temples. Weekday nights at less famous temples are often available at short notice.
FAQ
Do I have to be Buddhist? No, and it is not expected. You are asked to be respectful during services, not to believe anything.
Is the food vegetarian? Yes — Korean temple cuisine is vegan, and also excludes the five pungent vegetables including garlic and onion. It is more interesting than that description makes it sound.
Can I stay more than one night? At many temples, yes, particularly on rest-focused programs.
Will I share a room? Usually, with same-gender guests, on floor bedding. Some temples offer private rooms for couples or families.
Can I leave early if I need to? Yes. Tell the coordinator. Nobody is locked in.