Buddha’s Birthday is a National Holiday in South Korea, and is celebrated nationwide by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. The Asia Society describes the Buddha’s Birthday as, “a carnival day when Korean culture and tradition is celebrated” and I found that to be extremely true. This year, the holiday landed on Wednesday, May 19th and we were lucky to have the entire day off of school!

I knew that I wanted to spend the day at a temple, and Samgwangsa Temple stood out as one of the best places in Korea for the Buddha’s Birthday. The Samgwangsa Temple is located on the Baekyangsan Mountain in Busan, and is easily accessible from Seomyeon. The grounds are stunning year round, but the temple boasts a lantern festival for the Buddha’s Birthday that features over 50,000 lanterns! My friends and I spent the day bopping around Seomyeon and then head up to the temple in the evening to witness the lantern festival. From Centum City, we took the Green Line subway to the Seomyeon station. From there, we took a cab because the buses were extremely overcrowded. However, you can take Bus 15 directly from Seomyeon to the Samgwangsa Temple as well.

Traffic was pretty terrible leading up to the temple as well, so we hopped out of the cab a few blocks away and walked the final stretch up the mountain to the temple. The streets were lined with vendors selling all sorts of Korean street food, lights, and toys for children. The energy was a mix of awe and excitement – as you could see more of the extravagant temple covered in lanterns more clearly with each step. We arrived at the temple gates and were greeted with Buddha’s that were brilliantly lit up, and paths covered with a canopy of lotus lanterns. It was absolutely breathtaking, and a moment were I felt like I was a part of something truly magnificent.

We arrived at the base of the temple and were greeted by two large, neon, animatronic dragons. We entered the temple after a quick walk through some sanitation spray and registering our information due to the Covid pandemic. Then, we were off to explore! The temple is massive, and we were able to wander through it’s multiple levels, wooded pathways lit by lanterns, and pear inside the temple that featured prayer and offerings for the Buddha.

In addition to the lanterns, there’s plenty of large, neon, balloon-like animals for children and adults to admire. May featured a little seat on top for kids to sit upon! We enjoyed the high energy environment – the temple was filled with families, couples, elderly, and children. There seemed to be at the same time a deep reverence for the holiday and an overwhelming sense of gratitude and celebration. I was overjoyed to be a part of it, and to make the pilgrimage to such a sacred place on such a sacred day.

Samgwangsa Temple is known worldwide for its lantern festival on Buddha’s Birthday, and I can’t recommend it enough! This was my first time at the temple, and while the lantern festival was certainly a dream, I’m also looking forward to going back on a normal day and exploring even more! I hope you all get to experience it’s magnificence too 😉

All my Love,

Lex