The Jogye Order will hold a three-day meditation festival in Ulsan linking an urban media art exhibition hall with a mountain temple.
The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism will hold the “2026 Seon Meditation Festival—Ulsan” from Sept. 18 to 20 at Taehwa Mandi Complex Cultural Space and around Baekyangsa Temple on Hamwolsan Mountain in Ulsan. The event is jointly organized by the Jogye Order’s Future Headquarters and the Taehwa Complex Cultural Space association.
Five-senses meditation at Lightroom
The festival’s centerpiece is “Five-Senses Light Seon Meditation,” held in the media art exhibition hall Lightroom. The program combines light, sound, scent and breathing, with Ven. Tanho leading the lectures. Singing bowls and aromatherapy will be used. According to a report by Ulsan Maeil, the program will be offered twice on Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Using video and lighting in an exhibition space as tools for meditation has been uncommon in South Korea. Rather than closing their eyes and turning inward, participants keep their eyes open, follow their senses and practice awareness.
Walking mountain trails, listening to sound and shaping clay
“Hamwolsan Walking Meditation” will take place around Baekyangsa Temple on Hamwolsan Mountain. Participants will walk slowly along forest paths, synchronizing their steps with their breathing. The program will be offered twice.
At Mandi, programs including “Sound Seon Meditation” led by Ven. Seonjeong, “Handpan Resonance and Inner Vibrations” led by Byeon Min-kyung, “Mental Care Office Meditation Yoga” and “Making Clay Mandalas” will follow. Five ambassadors will lead the individual programs. “Mind Prescription” will operate continuously throughout the festival in Mandi’s first-floor lobby.
The festival will open with Ven. Geumgang’s “Song of Seon Meditation.” The work translates teachings from Korea’s traditional Ganhwa Seon tradition and insights gained through meditation practice into language suited to modern daily life, offering participants time to step away from their busy routines and look inward.
A meditation concert on the rooftop
On the evening of Sept. 19, Mandi’s rooftop will host a “Seon Meditation Concert.” Jazz guitarist Kim Dae-ho, Park Hye-ji and tenor Lee Ji-yoon will perform. The program will fill the middle of the festival with jazz and classical vocals beneath the evening sky over the city.
How to participate
The main programs are free and available on a first-come, first-served basis to those who register in advance. Details and registration instructions for each program are available on the official 2026 Seon Meditation Festival website (seonmeditationsummit.kr), the official Instagram account (@seon_meditation_summit), and the official website and Instagram account of Taehwa Complex Cultural Space Mandi.
The Jogye Order’s Future Headquarters described Seon meditation as “a mind-training practice that reinterprets Korea’s long Buddhist meditation tradition for modern audiences.”
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