hankyoreh

This year’s Seoul Lantern Festival, South Korea’s largest Buddhist celebration, has finally been canceled. While the festival had originally been delayed from Buddha’s birthday, Apr. 30, to May 30, organizers have decided to cancel the festival altogether in light of a recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases connected to Itaewon clubs. The Association of Korean Buddhist Orders held a press conference on May 19 announcing the cancellation, saying “there’s no knowing when another outbreak will occur.” (provided by the Seoul Lantern Festival)

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