The 2026 International Seon Meditation Festival, which opened in April at Bongeunsa Temple in Seoul, will conclude on Nov. 4 at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building. The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the National Assembly Mindfulness Forum will hold the 2026 International Seon Meditation Festival Conference in the building’s main conference hall from 2 to 6 p.m. that day. A month and a half later, on Dec. 20, the Korea Committee for World Meditation Day will present its first Meditator of the Year award. The year-end events will continue to bring meditation—which has largely remained within temples and practice communities—into the language of the National Assembly and the public sphere.
Seven-month nationwide festival wraps up as 400 gather in National Assembly hall
The conference theme is “Peace of Mind and Seon Meditation in the AI Age: From the Wisdom of Tradition to Public Benefit.” It is co-hosted by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the National Assembly Mindfulness Forum, chaired by Rep. Cho Seung-rae, and organized by the Jogye Order’s Future Headquarters. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Committee for World Meditation Day are sponsoring the event. About 400 people, including lawmakers, Buddhist community representatives, meditation instructors and members of the public, are expected to attend.
The International Seon Meditation Festival was first held in 2024, making this its third year. The event connects Seon practice, distinctive to Korean Buddhism, with mindfulness, a contemporary form of meditation. This year’s festival began with an opening ceremony and Seon meditation forum at Bongeunsa Temple on April 3, followed by events in Seoul, Yeongam, Sejong, Yeongdeok, Busan, Ulsan, Gongju and Daegu. The conference will review that seven-month journey and consider how to extend Seon meditation into the public-benefit sphere.
From chief monk’s keynote to lawmakers’ panel, the day begins with a shared pause for breath
The event will open with a moment of Seon meditation, inviting everyone 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 Headquarters, will deliver opening remarks.
The keynote address, on Seon meditation in the AI age, will be delivered by Venerable Jinwoo, head of the Jogye Order. Rep. Cho Seung-rae will then speak on “Two Implications of the AI Age for the Mind,” followed by Kim Jae-chun, director of the Value Blended Management Institute, who will present on the direction and challenges of bringing Seon meditation to a wider audience. The panel discussion will be moderated by Ahn Hee-young, co-chair of the Korea Meditation Instructors Association. Rep. Joo Ho-young, an adviser to the National Assembly’s Jeonggakhoe Buddhist group, and Shin Jin-wook, secretary-general of the Korea Buddhist Promotion Foundation, will join the two presenters. At the closing ceremony, ambassadors who have worked to promote Seon meditation over the past year will receive certificates of appreciation and merit awards.
In-person attendance is limited to those who register in advance. Attendees must submit their information beforehand for security procedures at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building and bring identification on the day. Seats will be assigned first come, first served; once they are filled, applicants may join the waiting list. Advance registration is available on the event application page (mindd-apply.vercel.app/a/seonconf26). For inquiries, contact the Seon Meditation Operations Office at 010-8441-2371. The entire event will be livestreamed.
First Meditator of the Year award to be presented on World Meditation Day, Dec. 21
In December 2024, the United Nations designated Dec. 21 as World Meditation Day, with the aim of recognizing mental health, like physical health, as a right everyone should enjoy. In South Korea, representatives from religious groups including Buddhism and Christianity, academia, the medical community and politics joined forces to launch the Korea Committee for World Meditation Day on Dec. 21 last year. Venerable Jinwoo serves as standing co-chair. The committee is also sponsoring the National Assembly conference.
Ahead of the third World Meditation Day, the committee will present its first Meditator of the Year award at a commemorative event on Dec. 20. The award recognizes individuals and organizations that have contributed to making meditation more accessible and spreading its value. The three days around the observance will be designated Meditation Week, with public meditation sessions and related events. The award categories and nomination process, as well as specific dates and venues for Meditation Week, have not yet been announced.
Recently, committee members visited the Jogye Order and shared their experiences of practicing meditation in their respective fields. Rep. Cho Seung-rae recounted changing his usual call to organize the chamber at the start of an audit session into a request to “settle your minds, too.” Won Seung-hee, president of the Korean Academy of Meditation Medicine, said that in the medical community, participants are mainly people who counsel psychiatric patients, and that they hope to expand meditation beyond religious boundaries. Venerable Jinwoo said social wounds can heal when politics, the economy, the media, education and religion come together around the shared value of meditation.
Five minutes of meditation could help more people practice in daily life
News that meditation is being discussed at the National Assembly may sound remote from everyday life. But the conference raises a question close to home: In the AI age, when information pours in without pause, where can people find peace of mind? As more people find it unfamiliar and difficult to sit in silence for long periods, bringing meditation into the public sphere also means opening an easier door for more people to try it.
Seon meditation does not necessarily mean sitting for long periods. This conference, too, will begin with a brief moment for everyone to pause and focus on breathing. As in the lawmaker’s story about asking colleagues to settle their minds before a meeting, people can take a first step by focusing on a few breaths during their commute or between tasks. Those who find seated meditation difficult can start with walking meditation or movement-based practice, both featured at events throughout this year’s festival. Another option is to explore what suits them through a temple stay at a nearby temple or an introductory course at a local meditation center.
Two years after the United Nations established World Meditation Day, Seon meditation, rooted in Buddhist practice, is seeking to build a bridge between the National Assembly and the public in South Korea. What policy language emerges at the National Assembly on Nov. 4, and who will be named the first Meditator of the Year in December, may offer clues to the direction of meditation in South Korea. It will also be worth watching what voice the country’s meditation community brings to the global meditation movement.
For inquiries about this article: fare3041@naver.com