Yeondeunghoe Lantern Festival

Yeondeunghoe marks the Buddha's birthday, the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, which falls in May most years. Temples hang rows of lanterns over their courtyards for weeks beforehand, and on the Saturday before the holiday a parade moves down Jongno after dark: monks, temple groups and thousands of ordinary people carrying paper lanterns, with large illuminated floats of dragons, elephants and pagodas between them. It ends in a circling crowd dance in the street outside Jogyesa. The weekend around it fills the temple lanes with lantern-making stalls, food and free tea. It is a religious event that anyone can join, and UNESCO lists it as intangible heritage.

What you actually see

• The parade - hours of hand-carried lanterns moving down Jongno after dark.
• The floats - lit dragons, elephants and pagodas built on frames.
• Jogyesa's canopy - the temple courtyard roofed entirely in paper lanterns.
• The street dance - the crowd circling in the road once the parade has passed.

When to go

The date moves with the lunar calendar and lands between late April and late May, so check it before booking anything. The parade is on the Saturday evening before the holiday, the street festival on the Sunday. Arrive around two hours early for a kerbside spot on Jongno. Lanterns hang at the temples for weeks either side.

Honest expectations

The parade lasts several hours and the crowd along Jongno is dense, with barriers, road closures and nowhere to sit. Rain happens and paper lanterns suffer for it. Central Seoul traffic is a mess that evening and the subway afterwards is packed. If you only want the lanterns, the temple courtyards in daylight are calmer and free of all that.

Nearby

Jogyesa, Insadong and the palace quarter all sit on or beside the parade route.