When November rolls around in Seoul, I get excited to go and see my favourite festival! The lanterns are very interesting to see and is a perfect way to spend a fall evening!
When To Go
The festival is FREE and occurs from the first Friday of November and is open until the third Sunday in November. The lanterns are lit from 5:00pm until 11:00pm.
How to Get There
This three week festival is located along the Cheonggyecheon Stream, between the Cheonggye Plaza and the Supyogyo Bridge. The closest subway is Jonggak Blue Line 1 and take exit 5.
Last year I went on the final weekend on the Saturday night. It was actually quite cold (below freezing) and found that it really wasn’t busy at all! I’m not sure is this was due to the cold weather, or if it was because visitors had come earlier on in the festival. Altogether you’ll probably spend around an hour there. There are also many street food carts and cafes around to enjoy a little snack while you walk past the lanterns.
The 2017 Seoul Lantern Festival was extra special as it celebrated the upcoming 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games! Many lanterns featured various winter sports from the games themselves! It was a truly unique lantern festival and certainly was a great way to spend a Friday evening in Seoul!
If you are travelling to Seoul during the month of November you MUST keep an eye out for the Seoul Lantern Festival! You will love it!
