- About HST
- HS Research Institute
Heartsmile Research Institute, established in 2013, is dedicated to the scientific research and dissemination of Heartsmile Training (HST) in Korea and worldwide.
Originally known as Loving-kindness Smile Meditation, Heartsmile Training was developed by Wan Doo Kim (Misan).
The first intensive training program was introduced to the public in December 2011.
In January 2013, the Loving-kindness Smile Meditation Research Group was established to further develop the practice and to examine its effectiveness through scientific research.
In July 2015, the program was officially renamed Heartsmile Training (HST),
and the organization became the Heartsmile Research Institute to support international expansion and broader public engagement.
The trademarks “하트스마일명상” and “Heartsmile®” were registered with the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
The international trademark “Heartsmile®” has since been registered in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and other regions worldwide.
Since its establishment, the Institute has continued to develop specialized HST programs through a collaborative approach.
Researchers, under the leadership of its founder and president, Wan Doo Kim (Misan),
work to refine and advance its meditation practices and training programs. Between 2014 and 2016,
both quantitative and qualitative studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of HST.
In 2016, the Heartsmile Research Institute published the findings of approximately two years of empirical research in
leading Korean academic journals indexed by the Korea Citation Index (KCI).
In the same year, research on the effectiveness of Heartsmile Training was presented at the 2016 International Symposium for Contemplative Studies (ISCS), hosted by the Mind & Life Institute.
In 2018, the KAIST Center for Contemplative Science was established, with Wan Doo Kim (Misan) appointed as its founding director.
In the same year, the Heartsmiler Seed Teacher Training Program was launched to cultivate qualified instructors.
By 2022, 33 Heartsmiler Seed Teachers had been certified.
Since December 2022, certified Heartsmilers have been responsible for instructing the Basic Course.
In 2019, the Institute initiated a formal research collaboration with the Center for Mindfulness and
Compassion (CMC) at Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Although the project was temporarily paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it resumed in 2023.
The first outcome of this collaboration was the publication of a pilot study protocol paper titled
“Protocol for a Pilot Study on the Neurocardiac Mechanism of an Interoceptive Compassion-Based Heartsmile Training for Depression” in Global Advances
in Integrative Medicine and Health (October 2024).
Additional follow-up studies on Heartsmile Training are scheduled for publication in 2026.
In parallel, the book Buddhism, Digital Technology and New Media in Korea: Ŭisang’s Ocean Seal Diagram (edited by Hyangsoon Yi and Dal Yong Jin) was published by Routledge (UK) in 2025. The volume includes a chapter outlining the ideological foundations and methodological framework of Heartsmile Training.
researchers worldwide who are contributing to the integration of meditation and science.
Through these efforts, it aims to offer Heartsmile Training as a path of healing and awakening for people around the globe.