A Western lady prays in front of lanterns in a Seoul temple on Buddha’s Birthday.

On the occasion of Buddha’s Birthday on May 24, 2007, a host of events celebrating the 2551st anniversary of the Buddha’s birth, are scheduled to take place at hundreds of Buddhist temples around the nation.

One of the most important events is a street parade of lotus lanterns or Yeondungnori to be held in front of Jogyesa Temple (www.jogyesa.org : 02-732-2183) in downtown on May 19 and May 20, 2007. The parade of lanterns will be displayed along the street of the temple from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on May 19, 2007.

Jogyesa Temple is where South Korea’s largest and most famous order "Jogye" is headquartered. The temple is the symbol of Korean Buddhism. Nearly one fourth of 45 million South Koreans are identified as believers of Buddhism.

On May 20, 2007 on the same street in front of the temple a series of events will take place from noon till 8 p.m. The events include contest of lotus lantern making for foreigners, international Buddhism lecture, traditional or Buddhism music, and traditional or Buddhism style food event.

On the same day between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. some 50,000 people will gather at Dongdaemun Ball Park near the Big East Gate (Dongdaemun) in Seoul for a variety of performance as well as Buddhist ritual.

A grand parade of Buddhist lanterns will follow the event between 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on the day on the Jongno street from Dongdaemun all the way to the Jogyesa Temple. Hundreds of foreign tourists are expected to join the lantern parade. They will include 150 Dutch tourists.

Concert will follow the parade at Jonggak intersection. Local female vocalist Maya, local dance group Clone, local percussion group of Yadan, local popular singer Choi Jin-Suk will appear on the stage.

A traditional lantern exhibition will be held at Bongeunsa Temple (www.bongeunsa.org : 02-511-6070) in Samsung-dong, Gangnam-gu in the southern part of Seoul. The exhibition will run from May 18 to May 24, 2007.

The main ritual for Buddha’s Birthday will be held at 10 a.m. on May 24, 2007 at all the temples around the nation as well as at Jogyesa Temple.

For details or inquiries please contact Celebration Committee for Buddha’s Birthday at 02-2011-1747 or at the website (www.LLF.or.kr).