Lantern Festival, 2010

This weekend two friends of mine from Daegu, Nick and Sarah, came up to stay with me and attend the yearly Lantern Festival held in Seoul the weekend before Buddha's Birthday, a national holiday. Friday night they arrived in Seoul and took the subway to my place. Because I had my Gumdo class that evening I was worried that I wouldn't make it to Ansan Station in time to pick them up so they wouldn't have to wait for me. But it all turned out well. We got dinner, delicious Sam-gep-ssa (thick, roasted Korean bacon) where we drank soju (basically Korean vodka, and it's freakin' strong!) before heading out to a bar and having a few more drinks. Nick and I got a bit toasty while Sarah remained sober as a bird. We ended up at a pool hall where I know the owner, and played a few rounds in an effort to teach Sarah the rules of 'Cutthroat'. We eventually got back to my place and talked until we fell asleep.

The next day we headed out to Seoul to meet our friend Christine, but she was terribly late having something to do with a KTX train...So we ran to Yongsan very quickly to peruse the electronics market for an external hard drive for me, and a Cyclo DS for me and Nick. Nick and I had some trouble with the DS salesman. He spoke English but not well enough for us to communicate effectively. We bought some TT DS cards and left, meeting Christine at Yongsan station afterwards.

From there we headed to the Jongno area to eat a much needed lunch of Vietnamese noodles. While at the restaurant Nick and I discovered that our TT DS purchase was not complete and decided to head back to Yongsan while Christine and Sarah went to the Lantern Festival ahead of us. In Yongsan we had no luck communicating with the salesman, but we were able to get our money back. We were contacted by Nick's Canadian-Korean friend, Karen, and ran madly back to Jongno to meet her before running to catch the end of the festival.

The festival was held at Jogyesa Temple, quite near the Insadong/Jongno areas. People were sitting on the steps outside of the main gate, ornate and richly colored. In the courtyard of the temple, the bell tower, and the monks' residence halls is a large tree, thick and ever reaching upwards as if in an effort to equal that of its man-sculpted brothers around it. Strung up everywhere in a blanket of colored air were bright paper lanterns all in rows, decorated with pictures of Buddha and Hangeul script while the written prayers of the devout hung beneath each one twirling in the wind. It was a beautiful sight, to say the least.

Nick, Karen and I found Sarah and Christine finishing up their own paper lanterns in the shape of lotus flowers. Unfortunately, Nick and I's little Yongsan adventure took too long and we were too late to join in the lantern making. But we all walked around the courtyard and admired the lanterns and the gorgeous inside of the temple. Since so many worshipers were practicing their faith within, we decided not to enter the temple itself out of respect. Nick, filled with the affects of Spring, soon caught sight of several attractive women, in particular a young blonde whose relationship to her male companion was irritatingly ambiguous.

We soon found that a parade was underway just outside of the Temple gates. The parade was filled with all kinds of people dressed in a multitude of traditional attire and a plethora of traditional musicians and paper floats. The parade was over rather quickly so since I was the Korea veteran of all five of us I suggested a quick trip to Insadong which is rite of passage for any foreigner here. Once there it was a short walk down the busy Insadong neighborhood and a few pieces of street food later found us outside the area with nothing to do. Christine suggested dinner in Itaewon, another foreigner must.

Itaewon is regarded as THE foreigner hangout area and has an amazing amount of shops, restaurants and bars catering to such clientele. It's the place to get real Indian food, Arabian cuisine, or Western pub fare before settling down with a few beers from all parts of the Western World. We all agreed on Tex-Mex since it's so rare and settled in at Panchos with a few tequila drinks to comfort us against the slightly overpriced Mexican dishes. After dinner I took everyone to the Rocky Mountain Tavern, a Canadian pub just up the street from Panchos that I've been to a few times and whose beer selection I enjoyed. Since Nick is a Vancouver native and Karen is a Vancouver import I figured they would like a taste of home.

All of us being tired and the pub being packed, we stayed for only one drink before heading home. We said goodbye to Karen and Christine before boarding our subway at Seoul Station. On the hour long subway ride Nick found himself standing next to an absolutely ravishing Korean woman. After a few minutes of prolonged eye contact, Nick got her to talk and we all spent the rest of the time in conversation.

Finally reached Ansan Station, but because I didn't trust the bus (long story) Nick, Sarah and I decided to take a taxi to my place. We were soon home and spent the rest of the night talking and laughing. It was a good visit by good friends and I hope to have one like it soon!