Seoul Lotus Lantern Festival

The season of festivals is in full swing, and a photo-op favorite about to bloom : this year, the Lantern Festival will stretch between May 6th and Buddha's Birthday (May 10th), and the always spectacular lantern parade conveniently set for Saturday evening (May 7th between 7 and 9:30 pm).

Follow the parade from Dongdaemun to Jogyesa, and enjoy the temple's festive atmosphere after dark, with all the lanterns lit, unless you decide to stay around Jonggak for the dances and illuminations (9:30-11:00). I guess organizers cannot cope with too big a crowd at the main temple. That must be the reason why, this year, the festival reaches South with an exhibition of traditional lanterns at Bongeunsa (the Samseong-dong temple)... and why organizers are looking for foreign monitors to help cope with a crowd more and more international every year.

For the full schedule, check as usual the Yeongdeunghoe website (llf.or.kr) :



Seoul Village 2011

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20110504 UPDATE

From today's Korea JoongAng Daily ("An ocean of light honors Buddha"), interesting statistics confirming the international trend : last year, 30% of all visitors were non-Koreans. Half a million visitors are expected for the 2011 edition.