Haemin Sunim

Haemin (born December 12, 1973) is a South Korean teacher and writer of the Seon Buddhism tradition.

Biography Haemin is a Seon Buddhist teacher, writer and the founder of the School of Broken Hearts in Seoul. Born in South Korea and educated at Berkeley, Harvard, and Princeton, he received formal monastic training from Haein monastery, South Korea and taught Asian religions at Hampshire College in Massachusetts for 7 years. His second book, Love for Imperfect Things was the number one bestseller of the year 2016 in South Korea and became available in multiple languages in 2019. Haemin resides in Seoul when not travelling to share his teachings.

In 2020 Haemin faced backlash over his secular lifestyle after appearing in a South Korean television program. In the show he had been shown living in a two-story house and going to work in an office developing a meditation app. The publication Korea JoongAngDaily wrote, that after the episode aired the monk was criticized on social media of living opposite to his teachings. In response, Haemin announced that he would be quitting all his public activities and returning to live in a Zen Buddhism education institution.

In 2026 Haemin continues to run retreats and courses which attendees are charged for.