This weekend I spent some time in Seoul to check out the Lotus Lantern Festival.  Buddha’s birthday is this month and there are a lot of things going on.

It was very interesting in comparison to American festivals… by that I mean it was A LOT less annoying.  Of course, I can never figure out if I’m less annoyed because no one is talking to me or if it’s actually less annoying.

I will give Korea the benefit of the doubt on this one.  It was a great festival with booths on lantern making, temple stays, books, etc.  Plus, instead of serving fried Snickers bars, they had healthy temple food.

One of the best parts was getting to see a traditional tightrope-walking performance — called jultagi or 줄타기.  I had seen this in movies, but never live… and to channel Annie Hall, it was pretty neat!

You can see the full photo set here.

Related posts:

1. Lotus Lantern Festival Parade
2. Bulguksa Temple
3. Donghwasa Temple
4. Seoul Olympic Park