Returning to Seoul after the temples felt different than arriving the first time. My body was tired in a deep way—the kind that doesn’t come from a single hard workout, but from days of movement, travel, meditation, and mental focus layered on top of each other. Golgulsa had pushed me physically. Baekyangsa had asked me to sit still longer than I wanted to. The travel between cities had required constant attention. By the time I stepped off the train back in Seoul, I felt wor

On a very rainy and quiet morning in Busan, I boarded the train for Gyeongju, ready for a different kind of temple stay, one built around movement, breath, and the physical practice of Sun Mu Do. I was excited for another training opportunity and place to learn that many of my teachers had been to. Grand Master Donald Kimm had refered to his experiences at Golgulsa many times. Where Baekyangsa had been about silence, meditation, rhythm, and internal reflection, Golgulsa was i

The flight from Jeju to Busan was short and easy. Busan was a a big change from the easy going attitude of Jeju. The city huge and it sits right on the sea. Ships in the harbor, traffic rolling through its hills, skyscrapers sitting right on the beach. That afternoon, I dropped my bags at my hotel room and went to the rooftop pool to enjoy the sunset and take in the view of the city and surrounding landscape. The beach, a gentle crescent that bent towards the hotel edged with