Friday night was a good time. A number of us got together for a bowling and norebong (karaoke essentially). I even managed to score 100% on two songs: Twist and Shout by the Beatles and Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones.
On Saturday a group of us traveled to Jinju for their annual Namgang Lantern Festival. From Wikipedia:
The Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival [...] is held in October for approximaly ten days. This nationally designated cultural tourism festival, found only in Jinju, features a spectacle of lanterns floating on teh Nam River to commerate the patriotic spirit of the 70,000 militia corps and government troops who died for their country defending Jinju from the Japanese forces during the Imjin War (1592-1598).
From PusanWeb:
During the Japanese invasion, the general Kim Si-Min, raised a lantern in the sky and floated lamplights and torches on the river to send military signals to loyal troops and other support forces outside the castle. The flowing lantern was used as a military tool to signal tactics on preventing Japanese troops from crossing the Namgang. It was also used for communication purposes. Soldiers inside the castle were able to use the lantern as a means of expressing their safety to their families.
It was quite the spectacle.
When we first got there we made our way through a long series of vendor stalls selling numerous items including wonderfully carved and polished wood pieces.
More of the Korean obsession with the phalus
A few of the group got custom stamps made of their name written in Hangul, I was not one of them though. Now that I think back on it I wish I had, they only cost $10. If I ever come across another opportunity to get one I will make a point of it.
The whole event ran along both banks of the Nam River for what must have been a couple of kilometres. Floating on the river were dozens of various characters and diorama. They looked impressive enough during the day.
Part of the festival was that you could make your own lantern in which you would write your wish and then float it down the river, mimicing those soldiers from long ago.
About to float our lanterns down the river
Once night fell, the whole area lit up and it was something to behold. Words won't do it justice.
Just before we left (we had to leave relatively early as the last train for home left at 8:50pm) there was a fantastic fireworks display. The fireworks themselves were launched from both land and from some of the floats on the river. Unfortunately I had gone through both sets of batteries by that point and don't have any photos to share (I did manage, however, to film it with my cell phone. So if I ever figure out how to get it from my phone to my computer, I'll be sure to share.).
It was a long but wonderful day.
I can't wait for the next festival.
1 comment:
very cool man. I look forward to reading your posts
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