My Korean Temple Food Experience in Seoul

To finish our trip, we had a very unique experience: Korean Temple Food. We went to the Korean Temple Food Center. Temple food is not just food; it is part of practice.

Korean Temple Food has special rules based on the Buddhist philosophy of compassion:

- They do not use any animal products. Buddhism teaches compassion, so they do not eat meat.

- Monks and nuns do not use the five pungent vegetables: onions, garlic, chives, green onions, and leeks. They are avoided because they are believed to hinder spiritual practice and disturb meditation.

We got to cook our own temple food! It’s a special temple menu that Koreans usually don't eat in everyday life. A Monk was our instructor for the class. We cooked:

- Acorn Jelly Pancake
- Mushroom Rice Bowl

I usually don’t cook, so it was a bit chaotic when I did! But it was fun. I learned a lot during the class. We did not add chili peppers because no one in our group eat spicy food. We also learned something interesting from the class: The monk told us that Thai chili peppers are immediately spicy, while Korean chili peppers build up their heat slowly. This difference was fascinating to learn!

📍Korean Temple Food Center
39, Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 종로구 율곡로 39 신관
https://naver.me/5jJHx2j2

This wonderful experience was part of the A Special Travel Day with Squid Game program, supported by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). I’m truly grateful for the opportunity to explore K-Culture in such a unique and exciting way.

#koreatourismorganization #imagineyourkorea #escapetokorea #squidgame #pinkguard