Sunday, May 19, 2013

Seoul Lotus Lantern Parade; Traditional with the Modern

Interspersed amongst the parade members wielding small lanterns and others banging drums were the large floats. Although traditional in theme, the sculpted hanji paper dragons, Buddhas, pagodas, haetae beasts, and elephants were also distinctively modern. Some of the exceptionally well-crafted pieces were animatronics; Dragons breathed out flames, rhinos appeared to walk, and an elephants moved their articulated trunks in and out. Truly magical. 
The next day, I saw some of the floats near the temple. Without illumination and the contrast of the night sky, they were still beautiful, but lacked the magic I had seen just hours before.  



See more floats from the Seoul 2013 Lotus Lantern Parade on my Flickr site

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