Seoul, Jan 18: Nearly 350,000 people in South Korea took part in “temple stays,” or an overnight cultural program held at Buddhist temples, last year, marking the highest figure since the program was first launched in 2002, according to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism on Sunday.
A record 349,219 people, comprising 293,704 South Koreans and 55,515 foreign tourists, participated in the program at 158 temples nationwide in 2025, up by 5.1 per cent from the previous year, according to the Jogye Order.
The program, which allows visitors to experience daily life at a temple, was first introduced to promote traditional Korean culture and help ease a shortage of accommodation during the 2002 World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan, reports Yonhap news agency.
The number of temples taking part in the program, as well as visitors, has sharply increased over the past two decades, up from some 2,500 participants at 33 temples in the first year. Some 4.18 million people have taken part in the program so far.
The Jogye Order said it plans to further promote the temple stay program, in conjunction with cultural and tourism resources outside of Seoul, to help boost regional economies.
It also plans to organise specialised programs focused on stress relief and mental health, as well as initiatives tailored for socially marginalised groups.
Meanwhile, according to the Jogye Order, only 81 people received monastic ordination last year, a sharp drop from 226 in 2014.
The decline means fewer monks equipped for missionary and pastoral roles, fueling a vicious cycle of shrinking Buddhist membership and dwindling monastics.
The Jogye Order has labelled the trend as “a critical issue undermining the foundation of Korean Buddhism,” and has shifted its focus to younger generations, promoting what it calls “hip Buddhism” — a vision of the religion as youthful, dynamic and culturally relevant.
–IANS
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