Jinju Lantern Festival

Even Seoul is seemingly calm in the morning. Before the sun rises and cars and people fill the streets. The sun rising over the Han River reflects off it's calm surface. The countryside is a different calm. Clouds rolling off the hills meeting with the lifting fog from the golden rice paddies. It's hard to tell if I am trapped in a cloud or just the fog itself. The leaves are beginning to turn, faint hues of red and orange dot the hillsides. Farmers alone with their crops, I with my thoughts on this sparsely populated bus. The sun squinting my eyes illuminating the beauty of Korea.

Very early Saturday morning Megan, Loren and I got a bus bound for Jinju. Jinju is in the southeast part of Korea and the bus ride is about 4 hours. I love traveling by bus in Korea because it's cheap, relatively quick and very efficient. It also allows for views of the countryside and traditional life. We got to Jinju at 11am and walked toward the river where the Lantern Festival was taking place. We found a hotel room at the Versace Hotel and then set off to view the lanterns and find some lunch. We crossed the river on a floating bridge and found a food tent for some bibimbap and beer. A perfect lunch on the banks of the river under the clear blue sky.

Later, we wanted to check out the bullfighting and after catching a taxi and arriving at the bull ring we discovered that there would be no bullfighting on Saturday. Kind of sad, but we checked out the Jinju Fortress instead. The fortress had great views of the river and the lanterns floating on it. The day was very serene and calming and the weather was absolutely perfect. After checking out the fortress we went to a silk store to see the famous Jinju silk and then headed to MiniStop for an afternoon of soju and chatting along the roadside. Later, we took a nap and then headed to the night time festivities at the Lantern Festival.

The lanterns looked awesome lit up on the river and I wish my pictures had been better. The place was packed with people waiting for the firework show and just checking out the lanterns. All of the lanterns are made of silk and it's pretty impressive to see what people can do with a little silk and wire. We saw the Statue of Liberty, kite fliers, lotus blossoms, tigers, entire buildings made of silk. The fireworks started at 8 and lasted only about 20 minutes. However, it was possibly the best firework show I ever seen. Plus, right across the river from us, a fire broke out. It was highly entertaining. After fireworks we got samgyopsal (BBQ) and called it a night.

It was a great weekend with friends and I am so glad I have the opportunity to take weekend trips around Korea. It's so nice to get out of Seoul sometimes and breath fresh air and see how the rest of the country lives. I love it!

Here is a collage of pictures, more can be found on my Picasa page.