On Saturday, I joined some new friends for the Lotus Lantern Parade. The Lotus Lantern Festival is in honor of Buddha’s birthday, which is being celebrated today. After eating some delicious (and sadly unphotographed) galbi dolsot bibimbap, we found some front row seats in which to spectate. And spectate we did! I don’t think I’ve ever smiled and laughed so much in my life. There was so much good energy and enthusiasm during the parade. Most of the floats and all of the lanterns in the parade were made of paper! I would have loved to have seen those things being made. Incredible works of art. I regret that my camera batteries died just ten minutes into the parade, but luckily my friend Trevor took lots of gorgeous photos with his superior camera, and he gave me permission to steal- I mean borrow some images. Enjoy!

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Gyeongbokgung Palace

Ed, Kurt, and I explored Gyeongbokgung Palace a couple of weekends ago, and if I was a good blogger, I would have written about it while it was fresh in my mind. Luckily, there’s Wikipedia, so I can quote uninteresting facts to you instead!

First constructed in 1394 and reconstructed in 1867, it was the main and largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. The name of the palace, Gyeongbokgung, translates in English as “Palace of Shining Happiness.”

Nearly destroyed by the Japanese government in the early 20th century, the palace complex is slowly being restored to its original form prior the destruction. As of 2009, roughly 40 percent of the original number of palace buildings still stand or are being reconstructed.

Now here are some fun photos for you!

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