Contest seeks marketable products drawing on Jogye Order and temple cultural heritage; entries accepted through Oct. 23

Poster for the "Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and Temple Content-Based Cultural Product Contest." [Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism]
Poster for the "Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and Temple Content-Based Cultural Product Contest." [Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism]

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is accepting entries for its "Jogye Order and Temple Content-Based Cultural Product Contest" through Oct. 23.

The contest was organized to channel the strong public interest in traditional Buddhist cultural content — demonstrated at the Seoul International Buddhism Expo — into the actual development and retail distribution of cultural products.

It focuses on reinterpreting the cultural heritage, symbols, history, contemplative traditions, and spatial aesthetics of the Jogye Order and its affiliated temples as contemporary cultural products.

The theme is "marketable cultural products" that capture the cultural heritage and stories of the Jogye Order or its affiliated temples.

Eligible source material spans a wide range of temple cultural heritage and symbols, including Buddhist paintings, wooden structures, stone artifacts, ritual implements, Buddha statues, shrine halls, stupas, temple bells, dancheong decorative paintwork, traditional patterns, pagodas, and vajra precept platforms, as well as calligraphic styles, dancheong color palettes, traditional motifs, history, contemplative culture, ecology, and landscape.

Entries are divided into two categories: a product category and a design category. The product category covers cultural products in prototype form, including lifestyle goods, merchandise, crafts, and digital products. The design category covers product design proposals that include production-ready blueprints or visualized renderings.

The contest is open to individuals, students, companies, designers, craftspeople, brands, temples, religious institutions, and Buddhist culture-related organizations. Businesses that participated in the Buddhism Expo between 2013 and 2026 are also eligible. Bonus points will be awarded to this year's expo participants, products developed in collaboration with participating businesses, temple-affiliated lay Buddhist groups, and students majoring in Buddhist studies or Buddhist art.

Entries must be original works created by the applicant, or works for which the applicant holds legitimate rights, and must be products or prototypes ready for actual production and sale. Applicants must also identify a specific temple to be matched with their product and clearly state which cultural asset of that temple was used, along with the recommended retail price and production method.

Submissions will be accepted by email only. Entries will then go through a first-round document review and a second-round expert evaluation, with winners to be announced in November.

Awards will go to one grand prize winner, two excellence prize winners, three merit prize winners, eight encouragement prize winners, and multiple honorable mentions. Prize money is 6 million won ($3,910) for the grand prize, 3.5 million won each for excellence prizes, 1.5 million won each for merit prizes, and 500,000 won each for encouragement prizes. Copyright transfer fees may be paid separately in addition to the prize money. Winning works will be exhibited at the 2027 Seoul International Buddhism Expo.

"This contest is expected to serve as an opportunity for traditional Buddhist cultural content to move beyond the attention it receives at expo venues and find its way into cultural products enjoyed in temples and in everyday life," the Jogye Order said. "Through the contest, we plan to discover outstanding cultural products and expand them into an exhibition, promotion, and retail platform linked to the International Buddhism Expo."


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