It was chance that allowed us to visit the Seoul Lantern Festival (
서울등축제) after the Embassy-sponsored Thanksgiving Dinner. I had had no idea that it was ongoing, but when I suggested a walk along the Cheonggyecheon (
청계천), a 5-mile long artificial stream that winds through the heart of the city, I was surprised to hear that not only was it a short walk away from the museum, it would also be lit with lanterns and lantern sculptures. That basically made it a done deal, and about a dozen Fulbrighters braved the cold to visit the festival. I have tons of photos: enjoy!
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| Hundreds of tourists were walking along the banks of the creek to see the lanterns. My friends and I stayed at street level. |
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| An amazing and beautiful tunnel of blue light. |
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| The Cheonggyecheon is really long, but the lanterns didn't extend along its full length. I'd say we spent about an hour walking leisurely and seeing the beautiful artwork. |
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| This display had some traditional music playing to match all of the lantern instruments you see. |
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| This display was one of my favorites; the lantern kites were held up by wires, but they were actually moving in the breeze. |
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| Katelyn and me in the gorgeous blue tunnel (taken by Tracey). |
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| The whole group from left to right: Jonathan, Ammy, Ashley, Kathy, Katelyn, Kristen, Tracey, Julia, Maggie, Kate, Kaley, and Christina. They're in front of a huge lantern gate, literally a wall of light towering above them. |
The Seoul Lantern Festival is not as large or famous as the Jinju Lantern Festival, but I missed the latter (because I went to the
Busan International Film Festival instead). Thus I'm glad I got to see firsthand what the lantern craze in Korea is all about.
