Campfire Nook: Online Fire Gazing at a Korean Temple
The Campfire Nook and the Music Courtyard (pungnyu madang) are where visitors sit together around a log fire at Goyosa, the temple inside the online temple Hapjang (합장). You can simply gaze into the flames (what Koreans call bulmeong, "fire-zoning-out"), roast marshmallows and sweet potatoes, add firewood, and try fire-wheel play (jwibulnori), a folk game of the first full moon of the lunar year.
- Where
- Goyosa's Campfire Nook and Music Courtyard
- What you can do
- Fire gazing, roasting marshmallows and sweet potatoes, adding firewood, fire-wheel play
- Firewood
- Up to 4 logs, 80 seconds each
- Music
- A DJ spot with 5 synth tracks built on Korean traditional (gugak) scales
- Together
- Several people sit around the same fire
Bulmeong and pungnyu
Bulmeong is a recent Korean word for staring blankly into a fire. Time spent watching a crackling log fire without thinking about anything spread widely in Korea along with camping culture.
Pungnyu (風流) is an old Korean word for enjoying beauty and ease in nature. People of earlier times gathered in scenic places to sing and write poems as a way of savoring it.
What is jwibulnori (fire-wheel play)?
Jwibulnori is a folk game played around Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first full moon of the lunar new year. People set fire to the ridges between rice paddies and fields, or swung a punctured can filled with embers around in circles. It is said to have been meant to drive off field mice and pests and to wish for a good harvest in the year ahead. Because of the risk of fires spreading, today it is usually done only in designated places.
At Goyosa, when you draw a loop on the screen, the embers spin along the loop you drew. You can make a circle of firelight without handling real fire.
Things to try at the Campfire Nook
- Fire gazing: sit by the fire and just watch it.
- Add firewood: up to 4 logs can burn in the fire at once, and each log burns for 80 seconds.
- Marshmallows and roasted sweet potatoes: roast marshmallows by the fire and enjoy a roasted sweet potato too.
- Fire-wheel play: the embers spin along the loop you draw.
- DJ spot: there are 5 synth tracks built on Korean traditional (gugak) scales.
Where to go next
The Campfire Nook is the last stop in the tour of Hapjang's temple grounds. Once you are warm and rested, drop by the Worry-Melting Hot Spring, or go back to the Forest Path of All Beings where you started and walk it slowly. You could also close your visit by sitting on a meditation cushion in the Main Buddha Hall for a breathing meditation.
Try it in Hapjang
Walk up to the fire and a sit button appears (on a PC, the E or F key works too). By the fire you can add firewood, roast marshmallows and sweet potatoes, and try fire-wheel play. For fire-wheel play, draw a loop on the screen and the embers spin in that shape. Other visitors sit around the same fire, so share the firelight and stay quietly together.
Frequently asked questions
What does bulmeong mean?
It is a recent Korean word for staring blankly into a fire. Hapjang's Campfire Nook is a place to sit in front of a log fire and rest while watching it.
When was jwibulnori traditionally played?
Around Jeongwol Daeboreum, the first full moon of the lunar year, people set fire to field ridges or swung cans of embers in circles. In Hapjang you can draw a loop on the screen to spin the embers.
Is there music at Hapjang's Campfire Nook?
Yes. The DJ spot in the Music Courtyard has 5 synth tracks built on Korean traditional (gugak) scales.
Related pages
- Worry-Melting Hot Spring — Korean Bathhouse Rest OnlineA hot spring rest area at Goyosa in Hapjang, an online Korean temple. Sit in a warm bath, hot bath or foot bath and sip sikhye side by side with others.
- A 5- or 10-Minute Break: How to Rest Your Mind QuicklyFive minutes at work, ten before bed. Short ways to breathe, walk and simply watch at Hapjang, Goyosa, an online temple you open in your browser.
- Forest Path of All Beings: The Fir Path to GoyosaThe fir-lined forest path and Stream Valley leading to Goyosa's One-Pillar Gate in Hapjang. Walk slowly with others and stack stones on roadside cairns.
- Together Without Words: Being With Others in HapjangThere's no chat on Hapjang's temple grounds. How to keep others company with half bows, breathing together, and the shared courtyard, incense and cairns.
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