Designer’s 5-Year Pilgrimage: Pen Drawings of 100 Korean Mountain Temples
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
A corporate graphic designer, Yoon Seol-hee, spent five years (since 2019) visiting over 100 mountain temples across Korea and distilled seven especially meaningful sites into a book of essays and delicate pen drawings titled 'Weekends at Mountain Temples.' Framing writing as a form of design, Yoon explores Korean traditional architecture and the idea of a personal space—often re-visiting notable temples and comparing foreign monastery architecture to clarify Korea’s architectural identity. The book pairs detailed, ink-like pen sketches with reflective text about places such as Seonamsa (a UNESCO World Heritage site in Suncheon), Buseoksa (one of CNN’s “33 most beautiful temples in Korea” in Yeongju), and Bongeunsa (a temple in central Seoul). Through textured lines and attentive observation, the author conveys the calming, restorative power of temple spaces and how they inspire questions about life, home, and design. The series invites readers—especially those seeking quiet urban weekend relief—to walk mentally through temple gates and appreciate the cultural depth of Korean mountain temples (san-sa).
