Lotus Lantern Festival

Monday May 5th was Children's Day which gave us a 3 day weekend and a chance to head in to Seoul to check out the annual Lotus Lantern Festival.  The festival commemorates Buddha's Birthday which falls on Monday May 12th this year (giving us another long weekend).  

One of the highlights of the event is the Lantern Parade, where Dragon Lanterns, Pagoda Lanterns, White Elephant Lanterns, Pheonix Lanterns and Lotus Lanterns are all on display. There are dozens of large floats and over 100,000 individual lanterns, the parade offers a breathtaking experience, turning the streets of Seoul into a sea of Lanterns.

Here's some additional information on the various lanterns and their meanings:

Since ancient times, the lighting of lanterns while making wishes or personally making wish-lanterns was a popular event practiced on Buddha’s birthday. Each lantern has it own symbolic meaning, and personal world views or religious views are reflected in the lanterns. 

Big-sized lanterns symbolize justice, and the pattern of dragons and yin and yang are drawn on the lantern to symbolize rich harvests and truth respectively. Fruits rich with seeds like the watermelon symbolize fertility and abundance. The watermelon also symbolizes longevity because of its long stem. 

Other symbols of longevity include garlic, melons, and wild grapes. Animals are frequently used for the designs and shapes of the lanterns, and the crane symbolizes health and longevity as an animal that lives the longest. A dragon symbolizes rich harvests, for it is the god of water, which is essential for farming. The carp symbolizes honor, wealth and longevity.  The unique practice of Yeondeung, lighting of the lantern, is a Buddha offering originating from the Shilla Dynasty (AD 866).  Since 1966 other Buddhist cultures from around the world have joined in this awe inspiring tradition.

Here is a pic of the crowd, there were 100x more people during the actual parade (will be in the next post).

Along with some of the larger lanterns on display, there was also a centre stage with performing acts doing traditional dances that we were breathtaking to watch.

Krista with one of the performers.

Later we managed to find a few empty chairs that we could stand on to take some better photos.

Can you find Krista?

Here is a video of one of the dance performances (for those viewing in email click here).

This next video is a composition of shorter clips (for those viewing in email click here).

Lastly, here is a video of the entire crowd getting their groove on (for those viewing in email click here).

Further down the street was the Jogyesa Temple, on the inside stood 3 tall golden Buddha statues.  On the outside you could see hundreds and hundreds of lanterns being photographed by just as many intrigued visitors. The lanterns are in the pattern of a lotus blossom.

Picture of a baby Buddha on a white lantern.

In addition to the parade, there was also a street festival (pictures will be in another post) that took place May 4th from 12pm-7pm.  For those of you in Seoul that were not able to make it this year, hopefully you have a chance to see it in 2009!  

Directions:  

Jogyesa Temple: Subway Line #1- Jonggak Station, Line #3- Anguk Station
Jongno street: Subway Line #1- Jonggak Station

Anyone for some Gimbap?

Gimbap or Kimbap is a popular Korean "fast" food made from steamed white rice (bap) and various other ingredients, rolled in gim (sheets of dried seaweed) and served cold in bite-size slices. Gimbap is often eaten during picnics or outdoor events, or as a light lunch, served with kimchi.  

The basic ingredients of Gimbap are rice, meat or other protein-rich ingredient (fish cake, crab meat, egg or seasoned rib-eye) and a large variety of vegetables pickled, roasted or fresh.  Traditionally, the rice is lightly seasoned with salt and sesame oil.  The vegetables usually include spinach, carrots and pickled daikon.  After rolling and slicing, it can be eaten on its own or served with kimchi. 

Your basic Gimbap usually goes for W1000 ($1) and you can get many different varieties such as Kimchi Gimbap (our fav) or Tuna for W2000.

We both have a love for Gimbap and Krista has an obsession for cooking so she has decided to try making some of her own.

The chef's kitchen.

You can even catch a glimpse of a Miller Light!  (wish it was Alexander Keith's...)

So after many variations on flavor.. the winner is................ Gimbap with the garlic dill pickle!  You won't be able to find those anywhere else in Korea!

Has anyone else ever attempted to make Gimbap?

Han-gang Riverside Park

On Tuesday April 8th we took a trip late in the afternoon to Yeouinaru Station (Line 5) to visit walk along the Han River.  If you remember, this is also where we saw the international fireworks festival (click here).  On the previous weekend I had just purchased a Canon EOS Kiss X (400D/Rebel XTi) Digital SLR camera and wanted to try it out (I'm still learning....)!

There are so many things to do down at the park such as rent bikes and ride along the 30km path, swim, play basketball, dine on the river, ride ferries and fly kites!  It is a beautiful spot to relax and get away from the inner part of a bustling city.

Geumjeong Station Line 1 and 4

Here is a tiled display outside the station in Yeouinaru Station.

A close up of the cherry blossoms.

A view from the road overlooking the park and the river.  You can see the skyline of Seoul's financial district.  The grass was a little brown yet, by now everything in the park should be green (we're a month late for this post).  

Another artist's work near the main road.

The DLI (Daehan Life Insurance) building, otherwise known as Building 63 is a skyscraper on the Yeouido Island overlooking the Han River in Seoul.  It is 249m (817 feet) high and is the 3rd tallest building in South Korea.  

Another picture overlooking the river.

Can you see us?  We've turned Korean!

There are a few other restaurants down here such as Elfee and even a KFC!

Here you can have lunch or dinner on the Han River while taking in the view.

On our way back to the subway station we saw a group of guys hanging around their bikes.  We snapped a few pics of this low rider.

I wish I had one of these :) low ride scooters!

We will eventually partake in the river cruise on the ferry and post pictures.  Maybe we'll even get a chance to rent some bikes and ride along the river as well.  

Do any other readers have any stories about how you have spent some time at Han-gang Park?