This year, temple stays have become such a hit that people go there, not just to spend time but also to looking for a romantic partner. With the help of a combination of self-awareness, meditation sessions, and deep conversations, these temple stay programs are attracting more individuals who are seeking genuine emotional connections over a first physical impression in a dating app scenario.
This trend is actually an indication of a shift in the way people are looking at modern relationships. Although dating apps are still the most favorite way of meeting people, a survey among the singles of South Korea reveals that they are getting extremely tired from the endless swiping of photos for new contacts and the very brief shallow talk with their partners. A small group started to take a different path, that is, a slower way of connecting and quite ironically, a Buddhist temple retreat offered such options.
The temple stays in South Korea are, in most cases, arranged for tourists to get a taste of Buddhist culture. Usually, their activities would go below: participating in religious ceremonies, eating with attention, quiet contemplation. Participants spend time far away from the distractions and noise of city life, following simplified daily routines that lead to self-awareness, joy, and spiritual harmony. Some of them have added dating activities at temples for singles who want to meet like-minded people and build new relationships.
Compared with regular date nights and other dating activities, these temple retreat programs have a very limited focus on one’s looks. Instead, participants spend several days doing fun stuff together that naturally brings on conversation and trust. Sharing the peaceful walks together, cooking meals for each other, taking part in meditations, and listening to stories through group discussion sessions – all these activities provide a relaxed and intimate setting that helps people getting along much better.
After these events, numerous participants have shared that they got very much relaxed and free and had no worries about the typical modern dating expectations for the first time in quite a long. As there are no more phone notifications and no profiles to manage online, you are really getting a chance to talk face-to-face with another person without the pressure. The conversations often focus on the topics of personal values, life experiences, goals, and emotional state rather than just casual talk.
Experts in close relationships are of the opinion that this kind of low-pace dating is beneficial for people to become closer and form deeper emotional attachments. Being together with a person for several days and experiencing the same interesting activities helps to know their true characters more naturally, and So, you can assess whether you are a compatible pair even before you start going out with them or before having one or two short dating appointments.
A change in the social atmosphere of South Korea is also playing its part in increasing the popularity of these types of retreats. There are several reasons behind the decline in marriage rate in the country like changing personal values career financial factors, among some of the top ones. The evolution of the traditional matchmaking system is leaving the dating landscape very open for exploration by many singles who are looking for a partner through unconventional ways.
People running the retreats at the temples do stress that this is not about making your love life perfect through meeting new romantic partners. It is more about discovering who you are and developing a greater sense of peace and being. Participants are advised to go with a light heart to focus mainly on finding the best version of themselves and be ready to get to know one another if that happens by chance.
Of course, the mindfulness practice is the major theme of these temple stay programs. Through such a program, participants can learn to stay fully present, become calmer, and become aware emotionally. Many participants feel that this environment that is quite the opposite of a dating bar or something like that would naturally bring out the best parts of themselves when it comes to communication without being the usual one-upmanship type of conversation in dating.