Luxury wheat-husk pillows for a mere arm and a leg
Buddhist temples in South Korea have been placed on alert to cope with the expected rush for accommodation during the 2002 World Cup.
As many as 30 Buddhist temples in and around the 10 venue cities are expected to open their doors to paying guests.
An Irish priest is also taking bed and breakfast bookings at his monastery on the honeymoon island of Cheju off the south coast of South Korea, an hour's flight from Seoul.
"We shall be asking no more than any other of the country's guesthouses and hotels. We'll be asking merely an arm and a leg," said Father Paddy McGinchey from County Donegal, who arrived in Cheju 50 years ago.
His 130-bedroom seminary in Hellim offers traditional "yeogwan" or Korean inn accommodation.
"We don't have beds. We have yo mattresses and pillows stuffed with wheat husks. A solid foundation for the good of the body as well as the soul," said Father Paddy of the Isadore Centre. "We've got everything any soccer fan could possibly want. We've a chef and even our own five-a-side football pitch. We also stock Heineken. And hopefully, we'll have Guinness on tap by next May."
