Lantern Festival

South Korean flag made out of lanterns near the temple

This past Sunday Fred and I went into Seoul to attend the Lotus Lantern Festival. It takes place in the middle of May each year in honor of Buddha's birthday. This year the holiday falls on Friday the 21st. We took the bus into Seoul and then walked to the festival area. There were many individual sections of the festival. The first on that we arrived at was a roped off block where tables lined the street. Each table was set up to show foreigners how to make lotus flower lanterns. There were literally signs in Korean and English that said 'foreigners only.' We had not registered early so there were no spots left for us to join. After watching for a while we moved on.

Entrance of the temple

We then arrived at a temple which was the hub of the festival. The temple was covered in thousands of lanterns, from the rooftop to the entrance. The South Korea flag was formed from lanterns above the temple. There was a stage set up where musical groups and children performed traditional dances and songs. From there we went to another area, at least 3 blocks, that was lined with different booths. Here we made Buddhist prayer breads and walked around. You could make paintings, buy books, speak with a monk, learn dances and do yoga. It was so much fun to see all of the activities. After walking around for about 4 hours we headed to Seoul Station so that Fred could get on a train to Pohang. It was such a beautiful day and it was exciting to partake in a very important Korean festival.

Older women in Korean Hanboks, enjoying the show

Traditional tea ceremony