A wall of brightly colored rectangles floods the field of vision, creating a unique facade for a Buddhist temple. It traces a gentle curve, turning people’s thoughts to the temple’s monks as they sit in meditation. Will this rid them of worldly thoughts, or sweep them away in a flood of ideas and inspiration? The wall belongs to Inwol Temple, near Gyeongpo Lake in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. This March, the temple drew international attention after winning a WA Award from the World Architecture Community. Word quickly spread that the temple was an example of “hip Buddhism,” even helping fuel memes. The temple is only one of Gangneung’s noteworthy architectural spaces. From Inwol Temple to the Sorol Art Museum, a public building that somehow emerged looking just like its architectural rendering, the coastal city hides a number of stylish spaces. The ‘temple that looks nothing like one’ Inwol Temple is a single crescent-shaped building, modeled after the curve of the Buddha’s eyebrow. Rather than divide its long, narrow site into a separate prayer hall and meditation center, t
