Located in central Jongno-gu, Jogyesa is a major Buddhist temple that connects with Gyeongbokgung, Insadong, and Changgyeonggung. Despite being in the city center, it offers quiet spaces for morning ceremonies, meditation, and tea with monks. Open to all visitors, including foreigners with English guidance, Jogyesa provides healing and peace through its templestay programs.

Hwagyesa, a traditional temple near Bukhansan mountain, provides tranquil nature trails and healing forest paths. Through its templestay programs, visitors can experience meditation, rest, and Korean traditional culture. Guided tours are available in Korean and English, offering a unique healing experience for both Koreans and international visitors. As a wellness destination nestled in nature within the city, it offers profound respite for those seeking healing and relaxation.

OMOT Seoul Forest is a teahouse interpreting Korean tea and its life philosophy with a modern touch. Its reservation-based tea ceremony, a seasonal tea course, changes its content every four months to pair curated teas with Korean stories. Certified hosts in tea blending and sommelier skills guide the experience. It offers a relaxing time to look back on oneself over a cup of tea.

Starting as a vegan dessert shop in 2018, URT is a food culture space offering 100% plant-based meals and bread made with eco-friendly ingredients from regional farms. Its signature dishes include vegan Pad Thai with Korean soybeans and Jeju dried tofu, alongside sourdough baked from stone-ground Paju DMZ Wheat Sourdough. Every Friday, two or three local farms open a vegetable market on the terrace.

Gosari Express is a casual noodle dining spot focusing on Gosari, a Korean wild bracken fern. It serves Gosari perilla oil noodles and rice cakes reinterpreting seasonal vegetables, including perilla leaves and crown daisy, with modern recipes. At night, it operates as a “noodle shop pairing dishes” with traditional alcohol and wine. Selected as a 2026 MICHELIN Bib Gourmand and Green Star, it offers a plant-based culinary experience in front of an open kitchen.

Led by Chef Jung Ha-wan, Gigas is a Mediterranean restaurant practicing farm-to-table dining in the city. It serves authentic Mediterranean recipes enhanced with the chef’s unique interpretations, using vegetables and herbs grown at Wani Farm at the foot of Surisan Mountain. Awarded a MICHELIN One Star and Green Star, this culinary hotspot offers seasonal flavors in a space designed with stone and wood.

Kkotbap Epida is a culinary brand operating an eco-friendly Korean restaurant in Insadong and a green grocerant in Bukchon. Both branches feature plant-based dishes crafted without chemical additives, using organic ingredients including non-GMO items and traditional fermented pastes. The Insadong branch has achieved MICHELIN Bib Gourmand status for eight consecutive years, while the Bukchon branch serves global visitors as a cultural space equipped with a grocery.

Led by Chef Austin Kang, Mukjung is a dining spot interpreting Korean cuisine with a modern touch. Centered on house-made Jang(fermented sauces) and fermented ingredients, it features various starters and shareable menus. Main dishes are perfected by smoking seasoned ingredients for over four hours a day. Combining an open-kitchen dining hall with a third-floor bar where you can sense the theme of fermentation, it offers a new Korean culinary experience of Seoul.

Balwoo Gongyang is a Michelin-listed temple food restaurant located near Jogyesa Temple. Using traditional fermentation methods with soy sauce and pastes aged 5–20 years, it offers seasonal temple cuisine rooted in Buddhist philosophy. Its private dining rooms create a serene, mindful culinary experience.

Base Is Nice is a vegetable-friendly restaurant proposing a plant-centered diet. It provides a newly curated table set using seasonal vegetables every season. Clean, simple cooking preserves the natural taste and texture of the ingredients. Through this healthy dining experience, it offers physical balance, peace of mind, and the joy of dining.