Though usually a December event, the 4th Sanjicheon Lantern Festival in Jeju City was held a month early to recognize and support Jeju’s bid to become a New7Wonders of Nature winner, the result of which is being announced Nov. 11.
In addition to the overall New7Wonders theme, this year’s theme for the festival was “Hope - Trust - Blessing.” Performances, concerts, and events and activities such as lantern making and singing contests ran from Nov. 5 to Nov. 10 in the Ildo neighborhood of Gu Jeju, a older business district with a lot of history.
The highlight for visitors was 3,000 colorful lanterns, including ones shaped as well-known folk and mythological characters, animals, birds and plants, which were on display around the neighborhood.
This year 1,400 eight-sided lanterns were set aside for visitors to write down their hopes and dreams for Jeju to be selected as a New7Wonder of Nature. Every day of the event, people were invited to vote for Jeju by phone and at computers set up in booths around the venue.
“Like Sanjicheon’s clean and clear water, I hope it becomes a stepping stone for all of us to work together to make Sanjicheon a more beautiful place,” wrote Jeju City Mayor Kim Byoung Lip in a congratulatory statement. “In particular, in the hope that Jeju will become one of the New7Wonders of Nature, I sincerely ask all of you to vote, so that we can share the beauty of Jeju with the world.”
The festival was sponsored by Jeju City and this year hosted by the Ildo 2-dong Community Center. New events added this year included cookie decorating, face painting, and organic cosmetics making.
The association of water, the stream, and the light of the lanterns was intended from the very first festival in 2008 to brighten up the aging area of Jeju City during the least colorful time of the year. The festival has become a widely-anticipated event locally, with its energy reinvigorating the local economy while spreading happiness among residents and visitors alike.
(Additional reporting by Angela Kim) <Jeju Weekly>
<Todd Thacker toddthacker@jejuweekly.comⓒ Jeju Weekly All rights reserved>
