The Sound Arrives Before the Light
The first thing you notice isn’t the lanterns. It’s the drumming — a low, steady pulse that rolls down Jongno before you can see anything at all. You’re standing somewhere near Jonggak Station, pressed against a railing with a few hundred other people, and the sound reaches you a full minute before the first glow appears at the far end of the street.
That’s how Seoul’s Lotus Lantern Festival (연등회) begins each spring: not with a spectacle, but with a vibration you feel in your chest. The festival marks Buddha’s Birthday (석가탄신일), which falls on May 5, 2026, and the main celebrations stretch through May 7. UNESCO inscribed the Lotus Lantern Festival as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2020, which sounds like a bureaucratic footnote until you’re actually standing in the middle of it.
What the Parade Actually Looks Like
The Lotus Lantern Parade runs on the evening before Buddha’s Birthday — so May 4 in 2026, probably starting around 7 PM. The route goes roughly 3 kilometres from Dongdaemun west along Jongno to Jogyesa Temple. Tens of thousands of people walk it carrying lanterns they’ve built themselves or received from their temple communities.
The lanterns vary wildly. Some are simple lotus flowers on sticks, the kind you could make in an afternoon. Others are elaborate multi-metre constructions — dragons, elephants, ships, cartoon characters — mounted on wheeled platforms and lit from the inside. Buddhist monks in grey and brown robes walk alongside drumming troupes and dance groups. The whole thing takes a couple of hours to pass any given point.
Here’s the thing about watching it: the parade is genuinely moving in a way that’s hard to explain if you haven’t seen it. It’s not performative in the way a Mardi Gras float is. The people carrying lanterns include grandmothers, kids, office workers still in their work shoes. There’s a sincerity to it that catches you off guard.
The best viewing spots fill up fast. The stretch near Jonggak Station (Exit 1) is popular but gets packed. Honestly, anywhere along the Jongno section works — just arrive by 6 PM at the latest if you want to be near the front.
Jogyesa and the Lantern Canopy
Before and after the parade, the real centre of gravity is Jogyesa Temple (조계사) in Insadong. For several weeks leading up to Buddha’s Birthday, the temple courtyard disappears under thousands of paper lanterns strung overhead in dense rows. Each one has a small tag with a name and a wish written on it. Walking underneath feels like being inside a luminous tent.
The temple hosts chanting ceremonies, dharma talks, and cultural performances throughout the festival period. It’s free to enter. Photography is fine in the courtyard, though you should ask before shooting inside the main hall.
Bongeunsa Temple (봉은사) in Gangnam is the quieter alternative. It has its own lantern display, and the juxtaposition of paper lanterns against the glass towers of the COEX district is genuinely striking. If Jogyesa feels like the festival’s heart, Bongeunsa is where you go to sit and think.
Making Your Own Lantern
In the days before the parade, festival grounds near Cheonggyecheon Stream and around Jogyesa host workshops where you can build your own lotus lantern. The process takes maybe 30 to 45 minutes — you’re essentially gluing coloured paper petals onto a wire frame with a candle holder inside. It’s simple enough for kids and satisfying enough for adults. Most workshops are free or charge a small materials fee.
The cultural programme around the workshops is extensive: Buddhist music performances, temple food tastings, meditation sessions (open to beginners — no experience needed), calligraphy, tea ceremony, and woodblock printing. I’d suggest budgeting at least half a day for the Cheonggyecheon area if you’re interested in any of this.
The Food Part
Temple food (사찰음식) is one of Korea’s genuinely distinctive culinary traditions, and Buddha’s Birthday is the easiest time to try it. The cooking follows strict rules — no garlic, no onion, no leeks, no chives, no green onions. What’s left is a cuisine built on seasonal vegetables, mountain herbs, tofu, mushrooms, and fermented pastes.
It sounds restrictive, and it is. But the flavours are surprisingly complex. Dishes like tofu braised in perilla oil, or wild greens dressed with doenjang, have a clarity that’s hard to find in regular Korean cooking. Many temples serve free communal meals during the festival — just show up, sit down, eat quietly, and clean your own bowl afterward.
A practical note: if you want to try temple food outside the free communal meals, there are several temple food restaurants in the Insadong area. They’re not cheap, but they’re worth it if the cuisine interests you.
Getting There and Getting Around
Seoul Metro is the easiest way to reach everything. Line 1 to Jonggak Station puts you on the parade route. Line 3 to Anguk Station is closest to Jogyesa Temple. Line 2 to Samseong Station for Bongeunsa. The metro runs extended hours during major festivals, though I’d check the exact schedule closer to the date.
Buddha’s Birthday is a national holiday in Korea, so domestic travel demand spikes. Book flights and accommodation early. If you’re coming from outside Korea, May is an excellent time to visit — temperatures around 18–24°C, low humidity, everything green.
For accommodation, the Insadong / Jongno area puts you within walking distance of both the parade route and Jogyesa. Gangnam is more convenient for Bongeunsa. Either way, hotels fill up, so don’t wait until April to book.
If you want a temple stay experience — spending one or two nights at a temple with meditation, Buddhist meals, and lantern-making — you can book through the official Templestay programme. KKday also lists templestay packages and Seoul cultural tours that cover the festival highlights, which can save you some planning time.
One more logistics thing: for a Korean SIM card or portable Wi-Fi, it helps to sort that out before you land. AeroBile rents SIM cards and Wi-Fi devices that you can pick up at the airport — useful for navigating the metro and looking up parade schedules on the go.
Outside Seoul
Seoul gets most of the attention, but temples across the country hold their own Buddha’s Birthday celebrations. Haeinsa (해인사) in Hapcheon, Bulguksa (불국사) in Gyeongju, and Beomeosa (범어사) in Busan all host lantern displays and special prayer services. These are smaller, quieter affairs — more contemplation, less spectacle.
Getting to Haeinsa or Bulguksa requires some effort (buses from the nearest KTX stations), but if you’re already planning to explore outside Seoul, timing your visit around Buddha’s Birthday adds a dimension that regular temple visits don’t have. KLOOK has day-trip packages from Seoul to Gyeongju that might work if you don’t want to figure out the bus connections yourself.
The Part Nobody Mentions
The parade ends, the crowds thin out, and you’re walking back toward the subway at maybe 10 PM. The streets around Jongno still have a faint paper-and-candle-wax smell. A few lanterns that got left behind sit along the curb, still glowing faintly. Your phone battery is probably dead from taking photos.
The subway platform is packed but quiet — everyone slightly dazed in that post-event way. The grandmother next to you on the train is carrying a small lotus lantern in a plastic bag, being careful not to crush the petals.