Odaesan Meditation Village is running a workcation promotion during the summer holiday peak season.
For solo entrepreneurs and small-company bosses who would like to get away on holiday but cannot truly switch off and enjoy nothing but their break, putting everything aside completely and taking a proper rest is not easy. For people like that, a workcation is needed that combines adequate rest with a minimum amount of work. At Odaesan Meditation Village, guests can work quietly and also take part in programmes designed to bring healing for those who want to find themselves.
Odaesan Meditation Village sits in an ideal location for a workcation.
Pass through the mountain gate and gradually gain altitude, and you can feel the texture of the air changing. In the foothills of Odaesan in Gangwon Province, the nature meditation village is set along a ridge at an elevation of 700 metres above sea level. From the moment you arrive, it is a place that makes you slow your steps. Accommodation made of fir trees is scattered low across a broad expanse of land that is as wide as 14 football pitches, and between the buildings you can smell the cool, pine-like fragrance of the fir forest. It feels less like travelling and more like a stopover you come to for a moment.
A meditation village cradled by the Odaesan ridge, named OMV
The village’s official nickname is OMV (OMV). Named after the initial letters of Odaesan, meditation and village, Woljeongsa opened it in 2018 as a space for emotional healing for modern people. Seon-gong, the monk who led the set-up, had previously said that he wanted to provide a place for practice for those who experience mental confusion amid rapid economic growth. Because the long tradition of practising at the temple was interpreted and expressed in a form with a light religious tone, even people who are not Buddhist can stay without feeling they have to clear a hurdle.
The biggest feature is the rooms. Inside the accommodation made of fir trees, each room has its own private meditation room. There is no TV or internet, and no refrigerator. From the outset, the design is intended to allow for a so-called digital detox—so guests can step away from screens and notifications. Once you put your device down in your hand, you notice more clearly the sound of the breeze outside the window and the way the leaves rustle.
Fir-tree forest paths and walking trails, where your steps become meditation
The rhythm of time at the meditation village follows that of nature. In the morning and evening, yoga and meditation programmes are held, slowly waking the body and tying up the day in calm. Because it focuses on breathing rather than formalities, even first-timers can follow without difficulty.
Around and beyond the village, there are walking trails branching in several directions. If you stroll along narrow paths named like a “path outside the wind” or a “secret garden”, your very steps turn into a form of meditation. If you widen your walk a little further, you reach the fir-tree forest paths of the nearby Woljeongsa. With hundreds of years of fir trees blocking out the sky, this path is one of Odaesan’s signature views, showing a different face in every season.
While you stay, OMV visitors can enjoy free entry to the Woljeongsa Cultural Assets Museum, and you can also turn the pages quietly at the literary hall set up inside the village. Meals are served at the restaurant Supida, with fusion dishes that make use of wild mountain greens and fresh seasonal produce. There is no cooking allowed in the rooms; instead, a tidy meal prepared with local ingredients helps keep the balance of the day.
Things to know before you stay
The meditation village has 89 rooms across 16 buildings made of fir trees. The accommodation is split between garamchae, which includes beds and ondol-style heated floors, and annex villas for those who want their own independent time, so you can choose according to your group configuration. Check-in is from 2pm, check-out is 11am, and parking is available.
Accommodation charges and programme schedules may vary depending on the period, so it is most accurate to check via the official website (omv.co.kr) or by calling the representative phone number (033-333-6500) and then make a reservation. If you ask in advance about the number of people, room type and whether the programmes are included, it will be easier to plan your itinerary.
There are two convenient ways to get there. By public transport, you can take the KTX from Seoul to the Jinbu (Odaesan) station, then travel towards Odaesan. If you drive, you can enter the route in the direction of the national park at the Jinbu Interchange on the Yeongdong Expressway. Because it is a cool highland area, it makes a good summer getaway, while autumn foliage and winter snow scenery are especially beautiful, offering different feelings in each season.
A day filled by clearing your mind, and time in the mountains you return to again
What Odaesan Nature Meditation Village offers is not a set of glamorous attractions, but the experience of letting go. Spend a night in a room where the notifications stop. Walk the forest paths slowly. Face a full set meal of mountain greens. It is that simple rhythm that ends up lingering in your memory for a long time. The village’s virtue is that it keeps the door open both for those who want to study meditation in depth and for those who simply want to rest a tired mind for a while. Because Odaesan’s seasons always greet you with a different face, that is also why people return after one visit, changing seasons and coming back again.
At Odaesan Meditation Village, it offers a 10% discount on room charges to those who apply for a workcation and stay continuously for 3 nights or more. The maximum stay is up to 5 nights, and the offer runs only in July and August.
The discount applies only to individual customers who use an 11-person room, and reservations are possible only by phone.
Phone enquiries 033-333-6500
Homepage http://omv.co.kr/