Jinju (Lantern) Festival (진주 남강유등축제) Oct. 1~16

 

Jinju Namgang Yudeung (Lantern) Festival (진주 남강유등축제), October 1-16, 2016

This is a festival that I have wanted to go to each year but had never made time for it. Even with the long wait and the 10,000₩ entrance fee, this festival was super cool.

Fireworks on the Namgang River at 8pm kicked off Saturday night. Floating lanterns on the water and lanterns of all shapes and sizes all around. There are so many lanterns, I don’t even know where to start listing them. I really enjoyed the lanterns of famous global attractions like the Statue of Liberty and Sphinx. There were also famous characters like Snow White and Beauty and the Beast. 

The most impressive was probably the Jinjuseong Fortress Battle within the actual fortress. The festival itself originates from the lantern lighting custom to prevent Japanese troops from wading the river used during the Imjinwaeran War of the Japanese invasion of 1592. 

Wear your walking shoes and eat beforehand (and/or bring snacks) because I ate a few things at this festival that did not taste good and did not leave me feeling well. 

I drove to Jinju and parking was a nightmare. Parking in Korea is often a battle of wits and patience. It seems to involve driving aimlessly around small alleys, then, risk parking up on a curb or in front of a closed business. 

Taking a bus to this festival would be cheap and easy. From the Jinju Bus Terminal to Jinjuseong Fortress (진주성), you can walk 1 km, take a cheap taxi, or a 20-minute ride on bus 120.










 

Jinju Namgang Yudeung (Lantern) Festival (진주 남강유등축제), October 1-16, 2016

This is a festival that I have wanted to go to each year but had never made time for it. Even with the long wait and the 10,000₩ entrance fee, this festival was super cool.

Fireworks on the Namgang River at 8pm kicked off Saturday night. Floating lanterns on the water and lanterns of all shapes and sizes all around. There are so many lanterns, I don’t even know where to start listing them. I really enjoyed the lanterns of famous global attractions like the Statue of Liberty and Sphinx. There were also famous characters like Snow White and Beauty and the Beast. 

The most impressive was probably the Jinjuseong Fortress Battle within the actual fortress. The festival itself originates from the lantern lighting custom to prevent Japanese troops from wading the river used during the Imjinwaeran War of the Japanese invasion of 1592. 

Wear your walking shoes and eat beforehand (and/or bring snacks) because I ate a few things at this festival that did not taste good and did not leave me feeling well. 

I drove to Jinju and parking was a nightmare. Parking in Korea is often a battle of wits and patience. It seems to involve driving aimlessly around small alleys, then, risk parking up on a curb or in front of a closed business. 

Taking a bus to this festival would be cheap and easy. From the Jinju Bus Terminal to Jinjuseong Fortress (진주성), you can walk 1 km, take a cheap taxi, or a 20-minute ride on bus 120.

About 

Hi, I'm Stacy. I'm from Portland, Oregon, USA, and am currently living in Busan, South Korea. Check me out on: Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Lastfm, and Flickr.