Seoul Lantern Festival 2013

As winter rapidly approaches, the sunny days have turned grayer and we look harder for every little bit of warmth and light this city has to offer us.  In lieu of our usual Tuesday evening bible study, I suggested we go on a fellowship outing to enjoy the lights of the annual Seoul Lantern Festival held at the Cheonggye Stream near City Hall.  Sadly, most of my colleagues had to do report cards this week, so we were a small, but merry, band of revelers.  With just five of us, it was a lovely night out and a good chance to get off the hill.  This is my third year to enjoy the Lantern Festival, and I never regret a trip to the stream to take in the lights.  Before heading downtown, we stopped for a pre-festival bite to eat at Slow Garden where they serve everything from risotto to waffles.  On a cold night, a blueberry waffle with whipped cream sounded like the best way to fill my belly.  A short bus ride later, and I was ready to walk the stream and photograph the lanterns in all of their glory.  There were some repeats from years passed and this year's lanterns were quite "Korean" as the theme had something to do with the Baek period of history.  The bright colors and soothing glow of the lanterns seemed to call to the camera and I ended up with over 100 photos.  Here are the best of my photos from the Seoul Lantern Festival 2013, after a little editing, of course:

Are you feeling the Korean nature of the lanterns?

Close up!

I'm sailing away...

I think these may have been my favorite lanterns of the night!  I wish I could have stolen one, or three, off the wall to bring home!!

Pretty cool in black and white too!

My new pet...half dog, half dragon?

The bridge was looking a little cold so they knitted it a sweater...for real!

Christmas is coming!

A sea of flying fish!

An orchestra of Korean musicians--this lantern grouping also played music!

Some of the most fun lanterns of the night began here!

So cute!  Smiling rocks!

Asian chic!

The jester!

Fan dance.

So fun and colorful!

Any guesses as to what this might be?

Shoes, a girl's best friend!

It seemed fitting to end my post with an illuminated pair of Korean slippers. And with that, my feet carried me to a taxi which returned me to the warmth of my wonderful apartment where I will anxiously await next year's lantern festival!