Korean Seon shares the broad Zen emphasis on direct realization through meditative inquiry, yet it has developed a distinctive profile. At the heart of its method stands *ganhwa seon*, a style of practice centered on the *hwadu*, the “critical phrase” of a traditional case. Rather than progressing through a large curriculum of koans, practitioners typically return again and again to a single question—famously, “What is this?”—allowing it to permeate the whole of experience over years of sustained contemplation. This singular focus is closely tied to the deliberate cultivation of “great doubt,” where intense, unresolved questioning is regarded not as a problem to be solved quickly, but as the very engine of awakening.

Doctrinally, Korean Seon is marked by a clear articulation of sudden enlightenment followed by gradual cultivation. Awakening is understood as an immediate, decisive breakthrough, yet the integration of that insight into character and conduct unfolds over time. This perspective sits alongside a strong engagement with broader Mahāyāna teachings; Seon monasteries have traditionally woven scriptural study—such as major Mahāyāna sūtras and philosophical systems—into the fabric of contemplative life. Rather than setting meditation and doctrine at odds, Korean Seon tends to treat them as mutually illuminating dimensions of a single path.

In terms of religious culture, Korean Seon has long displayed a notable openness to synthesis. Within one temple setting, seated meditation, chanting, sutra recitation, and Pure Land–style devotional practices commonly coexist, without being sharply divided into separate sectarian identities. This unified approach contrasts with forms of Zen that define themselves more narrowly around zazen or a particular ritual style. Monastic life in Seon communities also retains a strong, retreat-based rhythm, with intensive periods of collective practice that emphasize long sitting, chanting, and communal discipline as the ordinary context in which hwadu inquiry matures.

Taken together, these features give Korean Seon a distinctive flavor: a tradition that prizes the piercing question of the hwadu, trusts the transformative power of great doubt, and yet refuses to isolate meditation from scripture, ritual, or devotion. It stands as a form of Zen in which sudden insight is honored, but the long work of embodying that insight in daily life is equally foregrounded.