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Silent retreat in Jeju: A perfect reset while living with rumours of war
Before 2026 began, the writer decided that silence would help her prepare for it. For that, she is grateful.
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Four days of silent retreat in Jeju Island, South Korea has given the author plenty of headspace to consider what to save and what to let go.
ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO
Four days of soundlessness was what I’d expected on a silent retreat in Jeju last December. I pictured the cosy, wintry interlude in the South Korean countryside as the perfect reset before confronting the unknowns of 2026.
Wars, and rumours of wars were among the unknowns crossing my mind then; macro-geopolitical anxiety is pervasive each time the world crosses into a new year.
