Exhibition highlights importance of lanterns to Korean culture

In Korean culture, colorful lanterns are part of a traditional festival, celebrated every year in some cities across the country. And it is these lanterns that are now on display at the Centro Cultural Coreano do Brasil (CCCB), on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo. Entitled Lights of Korea – Exhibition of the City of Jinju, the exhibition is free, started this Sunday (18th) and runs until the 20th of August. “The exhibition was made in collaboration with the city of Jinju, the largest manufacturer of Korean silk. The lanterns displayed here in the center are made from Korean silk, from Jinju. In addition to making clothes, the so-called hanbok [roupa tradicional coreana], they started using silk to make lanterns. This city has one of the biggest festival of lights in Korea, which takes place in August”, explained Mideum Seo, responsible for the exhibition, in an interview with Agência Brasil. For this exhibition in São Paulo, a tunnel was created with around 1,200 colored lanterns, which culminates in a full, extremely illuminated moon where a queue forms for photos. “They [as lanternas] represent light, hope and unity, and are an iconic symbol of our country’s tradition,” said Cheulhong Kim, director of the CCCB, in a statement. Korea Lights – Exhibition of the City of Jinju, at the Korean Cultural Center in Brazil – Photo Elaine Cruz/Agência Brasil At the end of the exhibition, the visitor is also faced with photos and videos showing how the festival in Jinju is, with its traditional floating lanterns . “As far as I know, there in the city of Jinju the festival has about 700,000 lighted lanterns”, said Mideum Seo. This tradition dates back to the Imjin War in 1592, when the city was the scene of a Japanese invasion. That’s how, to protect the city, people started lighting the river with lanterns. “The public places the lanterns in the river of Jinju city. That was the beginning of the tradition”, said the person responsible for the exhibition. According to the Korean Cultural Center, the floating lanterns were used as a military strategy to prevent troops from crossing the Namgang River. But in addition to protecting the city, these lanterns also began to serve to spread messages or to communicate between family members who were separated by the river. “The mother who was away from her soldier son floated a lantern with letters,” he said. Further information about the exhibition can be obtained on the CCCB website.

Agência Brasil