Browsing the archives for the Festivals category
My apologies for being a bit slow in getting caught up from our vacation. As always, there have been some cool things happening in Gyeongju this summer, so here’s a belated rundown of some of the highlights: The time has come around again for the triennial Gyeongju World Culture ExpoZ. The fun kicked off on [...]
In case you missed it the last few dozen times I’ve said it, let me just say again: Buddha’s Birthday is my favorite holiday in Korea. On Buddha’s Birthday, or “Seokgatanshinil” (석가탄신일) as it’s called in Korean, the Buddhist faithful hang lanterns bearing prayers and wishes all around the temples, which serve free vegetarian Bibimbap [...]
Somehow I always forget about the annual Gyeongju Shilla Ceramics Festival. It’s not that I hate Korean pottery or anything. (In fact, I’m a proud owner of several Korean tea sets). Rather, the fine folks over at Gyeongju’s City Hall always double book the Ceramics Festival along side other big events (which actually isn’t as [...]
Last Sunday we decided to brave the yellow sand and head down to Hwangseong Park to check out the first day of the World Teakwondo Championships. The atmosphere was festive and park was packed with locals and visiting athletes. There were hundreds of tents strewn about hawking everything from teakwondo gear, sports jerseys and Nike [...]
I have to apologize to the regular readers of this blog (if indeed they exist beyond my lovely wife ) for being slack in posting lately. I had not one, but two, presentations to prepare for my masters program this last week. As my creative efforts have been going elsewhere, I don’t actually have any [...]
It’s finally beginning to feel a bit like spring around Gyeongju, which means we’re just days away from that magical season when the cherry trees begin to bud and then blossom. Entire streets in Gyeongju turn into marshmallow wonderlands and romantic couples stroll through flurries of pink petals. I already posted last spring on some [...]
Recent visitors to Gyeongju might be a bit befuddled by the flashy banners hung all over town proclaiming “2011 Gyeongju WTF!” No, this is not another misguided English marketing slogan sponsored by the Gyeongju Tourism Board (“Historopia” anyone?). And if you stop sniggering for a minute, I’ll be happy to explain. This spring Gyeongju is [...]
If you’ve not seen the signs around town recently, Golgulsa Temple (골굴사) has started hosting daily demonstrations of Seonmudo (선무도), or “Zen Martial Arts.” Golgulsa has been the center of a Seonmudo revival over the last few decades, so the demos are free and are scheduled for both 11 am and 3 pm every day [...]
It seems like local events have a way of sneaking up on me around here. I try my best, but I have a way of hearing about them right before, or worse, just after they happen. As my New Year’s resolution is to get a head of things for a change, here’s a list of [...]
To ring in the New Year I thought I’d share some video I shot at last year’s Andong Mask Dance Festival. On its last Sunday the festival hosts a traditional folk game from Andong called Chajeon Nori (차전놀이) which literally means “Combat Carriage Game.” It sometimes goes by the more impressive moniker “Juggernaut Battle Game” [...]
