Lanterns, Ladies, Monks and Hanboks

The Lotus Lantern Lighting Ceremony took place on April 18th in front of the City Hall. I hadn't planned on attending, but quite tired of my office and computer I needed a breath of fresh yellow dust, which was very, very, seriously very bad on Tuesday. When I got to the City Hall, the Ceremony was about to start. Lots of monks and nuns and well-dressed middle-aged and older people were milling about, carrying beautiful lanterns. I walked around the area with my camera, listening to the beautiful chanting of the choir dressed in pale-green and maroon hanboks. Two kind ajummas gave me my own lantern. It was the time well spent, as the lanterns and hanboks shimmered and glittered against the treacherous darkness of the city. A very traditional ceremony in the midst of the very modern city centre represented Korean nation well: a traditional heart in the midst of the modern economic hub.