Ahead of Buddha's Birthday on May 24, the heart of Seoul will be bathed in multicolored lotus lanterns this weekend.
The Yeondeunghoe Preservation Committee, made up of Buddhist orders including the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, will hold a large-scale lantern parade and traditional cultural events around Jongno in Seoul on the 16th and 17th.
Yeondeunghoe is a Buddhist event that lights lanterns to mark Buddha's Birthday on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. It was designated a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2012 and was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.
The Highlight of the event, the lantern parade, begins at 7 p.m. on the 16th at Heunginjimun (Dongdaemun). About 50,000 people, including temples and Buddhist groups nationwide and citizens, will march along Jongno carrying 100,000 handmade lanterns.
This year, the "robot monks," who drew attention after recently holding a precept ceremony, will also join the parade. Four robot monks—including the Humanoid Robot "Gabi," as well as "Seokga," "Mohee," and "Nisa"—are scheduled to march for about 40 minutes from Heunginjimun to Tapgol Park together with two Autonomous Driving robots. They will move directly in front of the executive committee, including Jogye Order Executive Chief Jinwoo Monk.
Members of the public and foreign tourists can also take part. From 3 p.m. on the 16th at the entrance to Jongmyo in Jongno 4-ga, the first 1,000 people (700 pre-registered and 300 on-site) will participate in making parade lanterns and then march together from Jongmyo to Jogyesa.
On the 17th, a traditional culture yard will open on the road in front of Jogyesa. Various programs, including Seon meditation, temple cuisine experiences, and lantern making, will run, and in the evening, the final night of the event will be capped with lantern play and an EDM performance around Insadong.
Major downtown roads will be extensively controlled during the event. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will restrict all lanes of Jongno in both directions from Heunginjimun to Jonggak from 1 p.m. on the 16th to 3 a.m. on the 17th. Jangchungdan-ro (in front of Dongguk University to Heunginjimun) will be controlled from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on the 16th, and vehicle traffic will be restricted from 6 p.m. to midnight on Jongno between Sejong-daero Intersection and Jonggak and on Ujeongguk-ro between Anguk Intersection and Jonggak.
In addition, from 9 a.m. to midnight on the 17th, the section of Ujeongguk-ro between Anguk Intersection and Jonggak Intersection will again be controlled. Bus stops in the section will be temporarily closed, and city buses will be detoured.