The inscription on the floor is "The Heart Sutra", one of the most important Sutra of Mahayana Buddhism, written in literary Chinese.
The paper which the apprentice and the Master used to cover their eyes, mouth and ears, has a Chinese character which means "to shut" or "to close" (pronounced "bì" in Mandarin).
Official submission of South Korea for the 'Best Foreign Language Film' category of the 76th Academy Awards in 2004.