Who says religion can't be cool? Buddhism expo

SEOUL, April 02 (AJP) - Crowds poured into COEX in Seoul’s Gangnam District on Thursday as the Seoul International Buddhism Expo opened, with visitors lining up from the morning to enter one of the city’s most unconventional cultural events. Hosted by the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, the annual expo — running through April 5 — has been held since 2013 to showcase traditional Buddhist culture and its evolving industries.
   
Inside, long lines quickly formed at booths that had gone viral on social media, with some areas restricting entry by the afternoon as visitor numbers surged. Young attendees moved from stall to stall, browsing Buddhist-themed goods, art and meditation programs, often treating the space less as a place of worship than as an immersive cultural experience.
     
The shift reflects the rise of so-called “hip Buddhism,” a trend that blends spirituality with lifestyle and design.

Organizers said about 200,000 people visited last year’s expo, with 77.6 percent from the MZ generation and more than half — 52.1 percent — identifying as having no religious affiliation.

   
This year’s event, themed “The Play You Love: Form Is Emptiness, Emptiness Is Form,” features some 430 booths. Programs range from the Buddhist Cultural Industry Exhibition and Buddha Art Fair to Relax Week sessions and an International Meditation Competition, all centered on healing, mindfulness and contemporary interpretations of Buddhist practice.
   
Amid the hum of conversation and camera shutters, the expo unfolded less like a traditional religious gathering and more like a festival of experience — where belief, curiosity and culture quietly intersect. 

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