Those who want to bring meditation into daily life gather again. The Seoul International Meditation Expo, widely regarded as the largest meditation event in South Korea, opens for its seventh year. The theme is "2026 Meditation, Waking Up Together." It reflects the idea of sharing a mind that is awake together, beyond individual practice.
South Korea’s largest meditation festival, seventh opening
This event is hosted by the Jonghak Research Center of Dongguk University’s Buddhist Studies Institute and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. It is designed so that the public and experts can meet together through one continuous flow that links meditation experience, academic work, education, and culture. According to AsiaToday, this year’s expo separates the experience-centered exhibitions and the academic-centered conferences by timing and location.
Experience exhibition in August, split into an academic conference in September
The meditation experience booths and world-meditation booths will be held for two days, Aug. 22 and 23, at Hakyeoul Station SETEC, Exhibition Room 2. After that, the meditation conference will take place Sept. 17 and 18 at Dongguk University’s Namsan Hall. The final event will be capped by a Seonmyeong concert held at Dongguk University’s Namsan Hall in the main building at 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 18. It is a lineup that opens with hands-on experiences and closes with scholarship and music.
24 hands-on programs and world-meditation booths from 11 countries
At the experience arena, 24 programs—including breathing meditation, walking meditation, and Seonmyeong—will welcome visitors. It is designed so that even people encountering meditation for the first time can learn it right away with their bodies. In addition, world-meditation booths with participation from 11 countries will be set up together, allowing visitors to compare each country’s distinct training traditions and meditation cultures in one place.
Expanding Seonmyeong through scholarship and education
The meditation conference spans two days and features lectures and discussions by experts from home and abroad. The theme on the first day is "Seonmyeong in the age of technology and science," while the second day’s theme is "The wellness value of Seonmyeong." In the education track, research to develop a Buddhist meditation program that has taken three years is moving into its final stages, and it will also present meditation routine content compiled into short videos lasting from 3 minutes to 5 minutes. The effort aims to spread meditation that people can practice briefly in everyday life.
Who can attend and how to apply
The event is open to all ordinary citizens interested in meditation, practitioners, and meditation researchers alike. Applications are made in advance through the official website of the Seoul International Meditation Expo (mind.dongguk.edu) and the official Instagram account. Detailed application information, including the participation fee, will be announced in sequence on the official channels. Meet two days of waking up together in the middle of the city through meditation paired with culture and the arts, and then also find time for an academic session that shares ideas—this summer and into early fall.