Seoul Lantern Festival Lights Up Tonight

The Seoul Lantern Festival ( not be confused with the Lotus Lantern Festival) starts this evening with a lighting ceremony at Cheonggye Plaza at Cheonggyecheon. The lantern display stretches all the way to Gwansugyo (Bridge) and they will be lit up from 5 pm to 11 pm each evening until the 20th of November.

The theme for this annual festival is  "Stories of Seoul's Past through Lanterns" so expect to see lots of traditional motifs.

Checklist of lanterns to snap  to post on Flickr:

Cheongsachorong,  the red-blue lantern, used for wedding ceremonies,

was also used as the logo for  the G20 summit last year.

1. an 18-meter lantern tunnel made up of over 3,000 cheongsachorong (traditional Korean lanterns with a red-and-blue silk shade)

2. a  model lantern of Namdaemun Gate

3.  Haechi, Seoul's mascot


Lanterns from twenty other countries as well as those by participants in a local competition will also be showcased. If all that viewing whets your appetite, try making your own lanterns at Gwanggyo Gallery. Handicraft activities start on November 5th.

Charges apply, of course. To make your own Wish Lantern, you'd have to cough up 5,000 won and for the privilege of floating your own lantern on the Cheonggyecheon, you'd need to pay 2,000 won. Don't see how the latter can be enforced given the length of the stream and the expected crowds. I suppose any unauthorised lantern will be fished out unceremoniously.

For more info, click here.

sources:
http://www.visitseoul.net/en/article/article.do?_method=view&art_id=48789&lang=en&m=0003001006003&p=06&gclid=CObQovi5nKwCFYka6wodMnSD2A
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_photo.htm?No=17410#
http://www.exploringkorea.com/seoul-lantern-festival-2011/
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/11/04/2011110400936.html
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/07/09/2010070900974.html
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?nCategoryID=1&SearchType=&keyword=&gotoPage=1&cid=1424125&cCode=&nCategoryID=&searchType=&searchKeyword=

MAMA's Making Rounds In Asia

Kpop lovers in Asia have more reason to celebrate now that Mnet Asia Music Awards ( affectionately   dubbed MAMA) has ambitions to be the "Grammys ofis  the East" and  is holding its award ceremonies outside Korea.



Last year,  the 12th MAMA was held in Macau. This year, Singaporean fans as well as well-heeled neighbours from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand can scream their hearts out at the Singapore Indoor Stadium on the 29th November to welcome their favourite Kpop idols. Consolation for those who can't book their tickets to Singapore, MAMA 2011 will be broadcasted in 19 countries, including live in Korea, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Malaysia.

The line-up will probably include appearances by nominees such as TVXQ, B2ST, Big Bang, Super Junior,2PM,  Brown Eyed Girls, Girls’ Generation, Kara, 2NE1, Kim Hyun-joong, Park Jae-beom, Jang Woo-hyuk, HyunA and G.NA.

That Singapore's Mediacorp and the Singapore Tourism Board is using the pop culture of another country to boost its own tourism industry isn't anything new. Think Universal Studios on Sentosa which has just recently announced a hike in entrance fees.  If things work well in Singapore, MAMA will probably do the rounds and visit China, Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia in the future. Imagine MAMA set against the backdrop of the Twin Towers in KLCC or the Shanghai Bund. Question is: What happened to MAMA attracting Kpop lovers to Korea? What has KTO to say to MAMA's ties with tourism promotion boards of other countries?

source:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2011/11/143_97807.html