On my first trip to Korea for a workshop on governance, I remember
taking a stroll one evening along the Cheonggyecheon stream with a friend from
the beautiful Cook Islands. Our tour
guide had earlier in the day told us of how President Lee Myung-bak had
restored Cheonggyecheon stream to what it is today during his tenure as mayor
of Seoul city. Being typical Pacific
islanders we thought we would go out to the stream to do our own inspection. Because we were there in July, we had no idea
that once a year the Cheonggyecheon stream plays host to tourists from around the world and also people from various parts of
Korea who flock to that very location to watch the display of some of the most skillfully
crafted lanterns in the world. Yes i am talking about the Seoul
Lantern Festival which is held annually around November to promote tourism in Seoul
city.
This time around I was fortunate that I was able to check out the
festival of November of 2011. The theme
for the 2011 Seoul Lantern festival was “Stories of Seoul’s
Past through Lanterns”. This post is
brief, I would like to share some photos from Seoul Lantern
festival. I will let the creativity speak for itself.
If you are ever in Seoul City around November, the Seoul Lantern festival is a “must see”.
