Coming up in about a week and a half is my absolute favorite holiday in Korea: Seokga Tanshinil (석가탄신일), or Buddha’s Birthday.   Every temple in Korea celebrates Buddha’s Birthday one way or another.  Most hang lanterns, have special ceremonies and serve a special group lunch or dinner for parishioners.  A few of the larger or more historically important temples will host special musical performances or hold a lantern parade in the evening, just after sun down.

This year, Seokga Tanshinil falls on Friday, May 21st.  In Gyeongju, there are 3 particularly special events that happen for Buddha’s Birthday that shouldn’t be missed.  If you’ve got a car, or you’re adventurous with public transit, you could easily hit all 3:

Seonmudo Practicioners (photo from http://www.sonmudo.com/)

1st Seonmudo (선무도) Demonstration at Golgulsa Temple(골굴사): As I mentioned in my post last January, Golgulsa Temple is home to the only Seonmudo (선무도), or “Zen Martial Arts”, College in Korea.  Especially if you’re a martial arts aficionado, you shouldn’t miss this opportunity to see the students and masters of Golgulsa Seonmudo College show their stuff on Buddha’s Birthday.  According to Golgulsa’s website, the Seomudo demonstration kicks off at 3:00 pm and will be accompanied by several traditional dance and Pansori performances.

Golgulsa is just a half hour drive from Gyeongju, just a mile or so off of N.R. 4 on the East side of Mt. Tohamsan (토함산).  If going by bus, catch bus #100 from the Inter-city (Shiwae or 시위) Bus Terminal going towards Gampo and the East Sea and get off at the stop for Girimsa and Golgulsa Temples.   It’s then just a 20 minute walk from in from the bus stop.  For more info on Golgulsa, you can check out their website or my previous post.

Seokkuram Grotto (photo from K.T.O. website)

2nd Seokkuram Buddha Grotto (석굴암) Open to the Public: Seokkuram Grotto is one of the star attractions of Gyeongju, and rightfully so.  Unfortunately, you can only look in at it’s splendor through the glass barrier at the entrance.  Buddha’s Birthday is the one day out of the year that Seokkuram is open to the public and you can actually go inside the grotto.  Believe me, Seokkuram is much more impressive when you’re up close and personal. It’s the only way to really get a feel for the beauty of  it’s architecture and fine detail of the carvings.

The only glitch is getting there on Buddha’s Birthday.  Whether you’re going by bus, taxi or car, the windy road up Mt. Tohamsan can become a parking lot later in the day.  If you’re young and spry, you might consider the hour’s hike up from Bulgugksa Temple, if just to beat the traffic.

Buddha's Birthday at Bulguksa Temple

3rd The Lantern Parade at Bulguksa Temple (불국사): There are a variety of events going on at Bulguksa for Buddha’s Birthday, such as musical performances and ceremonies.  By far my favorite event is the lantern parade held in the evening.  The parade usually kicks off around sundown (7:30 pm) after a short Dharma Talk in the main Buddha Hall.  Men, women and children pick a lantern (each holding a wish or a prayer) and light the candle on the inside.  They then join the chanting procession that leads around the grounds of Bulguksa for about half an hour. But rather than wax poeticabout how beautiful it all is, here is a short video I shot of the Lantern Parade at Bulguksa back in 2008:

All 3 events are centered around Mt. Tohamsan (토함산), to the east of Gyeongju City, so it would be easy to do all in one day by driving.  Even without wheels, it’s still possible, but it gets a bit trickier.  Bulguksa, Golgulsa and Seokkuram are all accessible by bus.  For Bulguksa, take bus #10 or #11 from across from the Shiwae bus terminal (30 min.).

To get to Seokkuram, you’ve got to take bus #12 from across from the Bulguksa parking lot and it takes about 30 minutes. As Bus #12 only leave once every hour, I’d suggest taking a taxi or taking the walking trail up the mountain (1 hour).

For getting from Golgulsa to Seokuram, you should definitely consider springing for a taxi (about 10,000 or 20,000 won).  And if you don’t feel like messing around with buses at all, you could rent a taxi for a day from Gyeongju for about 130,000 won.  For more information on bus routes or event times for Buddha’s Birthday, call Gyeongju English Tourist Info at: (054)-1330

View Special Events for Buddha’s Birthday (석가탄신일) Friday, May 21st in a larger map