An annual lantern festival will light up the Seoul city center this week with mulberry paper lanterns in the shape of widely loved fairy-tale characters, the city government said Thursday.
The 2019 Seoul Lantern Festival will kick off on Friday for a 17-day run over the Cheonggye Stream that runs through the city center, according to the city.
Twenty-three mulberry paper lanterns representing well-known Korean and world fairy-tale characters, including the Little Prince, Aladdin and Alice from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” will light up the 1.2 kilometer-long strip that runs from Cheonggye Plaza down to Supyo Bridge, the city noted.
The festival will also feature lamps representing key heroes in Korean history, including King Sejong, the founder of the Korean writing system Hangeul, as well as war hero Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his signature turtle ship.
China and Taiwan will join hands with Korea, installing lamps symbolizing Taiwanese mountain ranges and sky lanterns and the Chinese panda, respectively.
The festival’s special events include an activity that allows visitors to write down a wish on a paper boat and let it float down the stream. (Yonhap)
