The meditation leadership society Center One will hold “Aug. 15 Meditation Meetup” on Saturday, Aug. 15, to mark its founding. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Center One’s 3rd and 4th floors, as well as the Gallery Sa:Yu on the basement level, located at 11beon-gil, Sinhung-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The theme is “freedom of the mind and a creative life.”
Because it is an event held on Liberation Day, Center One framed the event’s purpose as taking a look for a day at “freedom from within,” rather than freedom outside. Center One is a meditation space that opened in Haebangchon in August 2024, and it has set goals of quiet and insight, and the enhancement of consciousness for corporate executives and professionals.
An open day at the leaders’ place to rest
Center One has been running regular programs focused on members. Opening the entire day and making every program free in line with its founding anniversary is seen as a way to keep the door open to people who have felt meditation was something far away. The venue also fits the character of the event: Haebangchon, tucked deeper into an alley under the slope of Namsan. After you pass the incline on the way up from the subway station, the city’s noise falls away by one layer.
Morning—opening the day with vibrations from a singing bowl and a cup of tea
The event begins with check-in at the Sa:Yu cafe on the first floor at 10 a.m. From 10:30 a.m. to noon, two programs run side by side. Singing bowl meditation is guided by Grace J. Kim, director of the Raum Art Center. Kim, who created Neuro Art Meditherapi based on neuroscience, meditation, art, and sound therapy, will set aside time to find balance in body and mind through the overtones and vibrations produced by the singing bowl.
The tea meditation held at the same time is led by teacher Dan-a Park. It is a practice focused on paying attention to a sequence of actions—boiling the tea water, pouring it, and drinking it—where the temperature of your fingertips, the aroma, and the sensation of swallowing become the objects of meditation. Because the two programs overlap in time, participants must choose one.
Noon—Wellness Market tour
From noon to 2 p.m., a Wellness Market tour will be held in the Gallery Sa:Yu on the basement level. The Wellness Market itself operates all day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and visitors who do not apply for any program can freely browse as well.
Afternoon—Dhamma talk that re-asks what meditation means in the AI era
The title of the Dhamma talk, held from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., is “In the AI era, let’s talk about meditation.” Center One founder No Sang-chung, representative (Asi), and Professor Jeong Soon-il will discuss together. The guiding question is what role human attention and awareness have in an era when machines replace judgment and prediction.
From 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., the schedule splits into two again. Foot-edge yoga led by teacher Hyun-hee Jeong is a class that starts from the very bottom of the body and examines circulation and alignment. Aroma meditation led by teacher Hye-jin Park is composed of a session that takes you into deeper breathing using fragrance as the medium.
How to participate
All programs on the day are offered for free. However, there is a capacity limit for each program, so prior reservation is required, and you can apply for up to three programs per person. Reservations are accepted through Center One’s Naver reservation page. The Wellness Market can be viewed by anyone without a reservation.
You can check the program guide and the reservation page through Center One’s official channels.
Center One said it arranged the day’s programs with breathing room rather than filling every slot tightly. The two hours of free time between the morning meditation and the afternoon Dhamma talk is also close to the idea of walking slowly through the alleys of Haebangchon and the market. Even for people encountering meditation for the first time, the threshold is low. The day is made up of a schedule that fills itself just by following one singing bowl sound, one cup of tea, and one scent. In the middle of summer, it is a lineup suited for those who want to give themselves the gift of a day off.
To apply, you can use the reservation link below.
