paper lanterns

A lotus lantern festival is held to celebrate the birth of Buddha over the weekend before the birth date in Korea. Buddha's birthday is on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar. So, the birthday in this year 2007 is May 24. The Buddhists decorated the temple with the handmade lanterns made from rice paper and bamboo. In the evening the Buddhists marched in a parade on the streets. The Lotus flower symbolizes enlightenment in Buddhism, which rises clean and untainted out of muddy waters.

Various forms of Lantern are displayed in front of Daebi(Great Mercy) Buddhist temple near Gyeongsan for this year's parade.

country landscape

Jaeho was born in a small town named Cheongdo, which is located to the south of Gyeongsan. It is about 30 km or 18 miles away. From time to time, he rides a bike to go there from Gyeongsan. It takes about two and a half an hour by bike. A high pass called Namsunghyeon-Jae is located between the two regions, which means village name near it and pass respectively. As the road descends from the peak to Cheongdo, you can enjoy a typical rural atmosphere. The above photo shows the area surrounding Cheongdo.

On the right is a flower on the mountain trail. The seeds fell to the earth, few of them survived and grew into flowers.