I went to the Seoul International Zen Center. It was beautiful. Really old temples, I watched several ceremonies and people bowing to buddhist shrines in smaller sized temples. There was a really lovely air about the place. It was also adjacent to a host of national parks, yet still up in the hills not too far from a subway station.
I went there for Sunday Dharma, which included 2 hours of meditation and a talk by one of the Zen Priests. I lasted about 9 minutes of the meditation, but had to sit out the first half hour before I could leave. And the talk was really unexpected. The priest was an East European with a strong Polish accent who ranted and raved about the war in the middle east, 9/11 and the Vietnam War! Quite interesting though.
Simultaneously, I was a little disillusioned with the visit. Seeing people bowing and praying and chanting to an ‘other’ sorta made me realise that buddhism in this form – with the robes, the chanting, all the trappings, bells and whistles – is just like any other religion. Might as well be bloody Christianity.
Anyhow I went home and bought my favourite book on buddhism “Buddism: Plain and Simple” on eBay. 
Overall it was a really lovely excursion. I recommend it.
