Twenty youth gathered under the camellia tree

Early in the morning of the 28th, twenty young men and women wearing red bean-colored robes gathered at the grounds of Seonunsa Temple in Gochang, Jeollabuk-do. There was a strange tension between the camellia trees that were starting to turn red. This is the site of ‘I Am a Temple’, a temple blind date program run by the Social Welfare Foundation of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.

As participants crossed Iljumun Gate, they received new name tags with Gochang's specialties 'eel' and 'dongbaek' instead of their worldly names. The competition rate for this program was 32 to 1. Among the 640 applicants, only those who were 'the most eager and open to meeting people' were selected.

Achieve love instead of greed and greed

“I like the teachings of being satisfied with the present and letting go of greed. But today, I’m going to try to be greedy.”

Commissioner Yoo Cheol-ju, who was in charge of hosting the event, responded to a male participant's solemn self-introduction. “We are Buddhists, but I do not recommend satisfying desires or desires in a temple. Acquire love for two days and one night.”

The one-on-one date took place in the warm sunlight and the sound of the stream. Even though the assignment was random, a couple appeared who faced the same partner in all three opportunities, leading to jokes saying, "It's meant to be."

Awkward search battle in silence

After the lunch offering, an entrance ceremony was held. Monk Doryun congratulated the participants, saying, “Seonunsa Temple, warm all year round, is a great place to cultivate one’s mind and form relationships.”

‘1:1 Rotation Tea Party’ time with a neat tea table in front of you. “Do you like cats?”, “What do you usually do after work?” The same cautious conversation took place. Although this generation was trained through various dating programs, they were not good at conversation in front of a relationship they met in silence.

The results of the first ‘stick of love’ were cold. None of the twenty choices matched. Foundation officials changed their method to the 'jeonggong method', in which men approach women they like directly.

“While you hesitate, your lover will run away,” shouted a man who was emboldened by the threat. “Jeong Dong-baek, let’s go out!” A confident voice broke the silence of Seonunsa Temple.

A friendly conversation under the stars

On an unusually starry night, the tone of conversation among participants walking around the grounds of Seonunsa Temple changed. “Have you seen the cafe in front of Seonunsa Temple? Do you want to go together tomorrow?”, “If you like badminton, shall we play together?” Specific proposals were exchanged.

It was time to make the final choice after a short night. Six couples were born at Seonunsa Temple. The success rate is 60%. This program ran for four years and produced two couples who got married and two couples who are planning to get married.

Among the participants who were unable to find a connection, there were regrets such as, “The chat time was short, so we ended up just introducing ourselves,” and, “We should have approached more proactively.”

However, one male participant said: “It is a great harvest just to have my ‘love cells’ awakened in my boring life. I will work harder to find relationships outside of Seonunsa Temple.”