I’ve heard it said more and more often lately: even on a day off, it can be hard to switch off. The body is lying down, but the mind is still wandering around the workplace. For anyone who knows the feeling, there’s news from Yeongwol, in Gangwon Province. The Hanok Heritage has completed Raonjae, a Korean-style wellness space, and unveiled five wellness programmes, including a floating sound bath where guests listen to singing bowls while on the water. Bringing together reports from several media outlets, I took a closer look at the space through the eyes of a meditator.
What is Raonjae? A hanok wellness space overlooking Seondol Rock Pillar in Yeongwol
The Hanok Heritage announced that completion of Raonjae on 27 August marked the finishing touch to the entire hotel. The hanok cultural complex in the village of Mungesil, Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, covers a site of 102,000 pyeong and comprises a hotel, detached houses, a restaurant, a gallery and a tea house. The name Raonjae comes from the native Korean word raon, meaning ‘joyful’. The company says it chose the name to convey a place where joyful resonance lingers. The site measures 1,168 pyeong (NewsPim and Newsis, reports on 27 August).
The ground floor houses a hanok infinity pool, a children’s pool, a private spa, a wellness lounge and Monto, a Korean fine-dining restaurant. On the basement level there is a dry sauna and an indoor swimming pool open all year round. The 749.43㎡ infinity pool has been designed to face Yeongwol’s striking Seondol Rock Pillar. When choosing a place to meditate, I first look for somewhere the eyes can rest. What more could you ask for than a rock that has stood in one place for ages, with open sky above it?
Defining rest as a balance of the senses: five strands
The Hanok Heritage defines rest not as time spent letting the body relax, but as a process of restoring balance to the senses. It has expressed this through five strands: stillness, flow, warmth, vitality and depth (Money Today, report on 28 August). I lingered over that idea. It is no different from what meditation does: rather than adding something, it brings scattered senses back to the present moment. That is meditation.
Flow: singing bowls and floating sound baths on the water
Of the five strands, flow is the programme closest to meditation. It comprises floating sound baths and morning yoga. Herald Business, which visited the site, described the floating sound bath as a wellness meditation programme in which participants, guided by an expert, lie on a floating, tube-shaped bed and listen to the sounds of meditation instruments, including singing bowls. In a first-hand account for Hankyung, Georgia Lee wrote that, lying on the water, you see only the sky and nature when you open your eyes; as you let go of tension and surrender to the ripples, you enter a state of deep relaxation and meditation.
A sound bath is a form of meditation that focuses attention on resonant sounds. Beginners who find it hard to concentrate on their breathing may find their thoughts quietening as they follow the sounds. Add the water, and even the effort of keeping the body supported can be let go. In the early morning, a session of yoga wakes the body through breath and movement.
Stillness: a tea class centred on a cup of tea
Stillness is a tea class designed to calm the mind and focus on the inner self over a cup of tea. According to Elle, participants choose one of five blended teas curated by Kim Dong-hyun, founder of tea specialists Rohae Seoul, then brew and drink it themselves. The process of shifting your attention, one step at a time, to the sound of boiling water, the warmth of the cup and the aroma spreading through your mouth becomes a mindfulness practice in its own right.
Warmth, vitality and depth: time spent working with your hands
Warmth is a woodworking class in which participants shape wood; vitality is a cooking class making pickled vegetables; and depth is a hanok class exploring the philosophy of traditional Korean architecture with a master carpenter. Elle reported that master craftsman Park Ui-jun takes part in the hanok class, while chef Shin Dong-min leads the cooking class. It may be a stretch to call these meditation programmes. Even so, bringing your full attention to each stroke of the plane or knife can be a welcome starting point for those who find it difficult to sit still with their eyes closed.
Raonjae’s meditation programme: what’s available now and what’s planned
One point is worth clarifying: none of the five regular programmes currently announced has meditation in its name. The experiences closest to meditation are the floating sound bath, morning yoga and tea class. The direction, however, seems clear. At an event in June for travel-industry representatives from overseas, The Hanok Heritage presented a sound bath combining the sounds of nature and meditation as a morning programme (NewsPim, report on 12 June). The company has also said it will continue to expand its meditation and traditional healing content, starting with the five strands. Several media outlets report that the five programmes are to run as regular activities for hotel guests. Check The Hanok Heritage’s official channels before visiting for the schedule and details of how to take part.
Cho Nam-hee, vice-president of The Hanok Heritage, said that Korean-style rest could only be complete when architecture, dining, traditional culture and wellness came together as a single experience. It remains to be seen what the space will look like once its meditation offering is fully developed.
A meditation retreat without travelling far
There was a time when Bali or Chiang Mai came to mind first at the mention of a meditation retreat. Now, in Yeongwol, about a two-hour drive from Seoul, you can wake to a morning spent lying on the water beneath hanok eaves, listening to singing bowls. It is the season when the sky seems highest. If you’re going away to rest, it would be lovely to return with a little stillness, rather than only photographs of the scenery. Raonjae in Yeongwol is a place worth remembering for anyone dreaming of a meditation retreat.
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