The 2026 International Seon Meditation Festival, which opened at Bongeunsa Temple in Seoul last April, will conclude at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building on 4 November. The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the National Assembly Mindfulness Forum will hold the festival conference in the building’s main conference hall from 2pm to 6pm that day. A month and a half later, on 20 December, the Korea Committee for World Meditation Day will present the Meditator of the Year award for the first time. The shift of meditation from temples and practice communities into the language of Parliament and public life will continue through to the end of the year.
Seven-month nationwide festival ends with 400 people gathering in Parliament’s main conference hall
The conference theme is ‘Peace of mind and Seon meditation in the age of AI: from the wisdom of tradition to the value of public good’. It is jointly hosted by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the National Assembly Mindfulness Forum, represented by MP Cho Seung-rae, and organised by the Jogye Order’s Future Planning Headquarters. It is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Committee for World Meditation Day. Around 400 people are expected to attend, including MPs, Buddhist representatives, meditation teachers and members of the public.
The International Seon Meditation Festival was first held in 2024 and is now in its third year. The event connects Korea’s distinctive Seon practice with mindfulness, a contemporary form of meditation. This year, meditation festivals have been held in Seoul, Yeongam, Sejong, Yeongdeok, Busan, Ulsan, Gongju and Daegu, following the opening ceremony and Seon meditation forum at Bongeunsa Temple on 3 April. The conference will look back on that seven-month journey and consider how Seon meditation might expand into the public sphere.
From the Jogye Order leader’s keynote to MPs’ discussion, proceedings begin by taking a breath together
The event will open with a period of Seon meditation, giving everyone attending a chance to pause and focus on their breathing. After watching a video documenting the nationwide events since April, Venerable Geumgang, head of the Jogye Order’s Future Planning Headquarters, will give the opening remarks.
The keynote address, on Seon meditation in the age of AI, will be delivered by Venerable Jinwoo, head of the Jogye Order. MP Cho Seung-rae will then speak on ‘Two meanings of the mind in the age of AI’, followed by Kim Jae-chun, director of the Value Blended Management Institute, presenting on the direction and challenges of popularising Seon meditation. The panel discussion will be chaired by Ahn Hee-young, co-chair of the Korea Meditation Teachers Association. MP Joo Ho-young, an adviser to the National Assembly Jeonggak Society, and Shin Jin-wook, secretary-general of the Korea Buddhism Promotion Foundation, will join the two speakers. At the closing ceremony, certificates of appreciation and merit awards will be presented to ambassadors who have worked to promote Seon meditation over the past year.
In-person attendance is limited to those who register in advance. Information must be submitted beforehand because of security procedures at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building, and attendees must bring identification on the day. Seats will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis; once they are filled, people can register for the waiting list. Registration is available on the event application page (mindd-apply.vercel.app/a/seonconf26). For enquiries, contact the Seon Meditation organising office on 010-8441-2371. The entire event will be livestreamed.
First Meditator of the Year award to be presented on World Meditation Day, 21 December
In December 2024, the United Nations designated 21 December each year as World Meditation Day. The aim is to affirm that mental health, like physical health, is a right everyone should enjoy. In South Korea, figures from religious communities including Buddhism and Christianity, academia, healthcare and politics came together on 21 December last year to launch the Korea Committee for World Meditation Day. Venerable Jinwoo is its standing co-chair. The committee is also supporting the National Assembly conference.
At a commemorative event on 20 December, ahead of the third World Meditation Day, the committee will present the Meditator of the Year award for the first time. It will recognise individuals and organisations that have contributed to popularising meditation and spreading its values. The three days around the anniversary will be designated Meditation Week, with public meditation sessions and related events. The award categories, nomination process, and the specific dates and venues for Meditation Week have not yet been announced.
Recently, committee members visited the Jogye Order and shared their experiences of practising meditation in their respective fields. MP Cho Seung-rae recounted how he changed the phrase he used to open parliamentary audits — asking members to settle in their seats — to one asking them to settle their minds as well. Won Seung-hee, president of the Korean Academy of Meditation Medicine, said that in healthcare, participants are mainly people who counsel psychiatric patients, and that the aim is to broaden meditation beyond religious boundaries. Venerable Jinwoo said society’s wounds could heal when politics, the economy, the media, education and religion come together around the shared value of meditation.
Five minutes of meditation to help more people practise in everyday life
The news that meditation is being discussed in Parliament may sound remote. But the question posed by this conference is close to everyday life: in the age of AI, with information pouring in without pause, where can people find peace of mind? As more people find the practice of sitting in silence for a long time unfamiliar and daunting, bringing meditation into the public sphere can also make it accessible to more people through an easier entry point.
Seon meditation does not have to mean sitting for a long time. This conference, too, will begin with a short period in which everyone takes a moment to focus on their breathing. As in the MP’s anecdote about taking a moment to settle the mind before a meeting, a first step can be to focus on a few breaths on the way to work or between tasks. Those who find seated meditation difficult can start with walking meditation or movement-based practice, as introduced at events across this year’s festival. Another option is to find an approach that suits them through a temple stay at a nearby temple or an introductory course at a local meditation centre.
Two years after World Meditation Day became a UN observance, Seon meditation, rooted in Buddhist practice, is seeking to build a bridge between Parliament and the public in South Korea. What policy language emerges at the National Assembly on 4 November, and who is named the first Meditator of the Year in December, will offer clues to the direction Korean meditation is taking. It will also be worth watching what voice Korea’s meditation community brings to the global meditation movement.
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