Jinju Lantern Festival

http://www.lanternfestival.org/

The Lantern Festival takes place annually around the first of October. In 2007, the festival runs from Oct. 1 to 12.

The Flowing Lantern Festival on Jinju Namgang has its origins in the worst suffering period of Imjinwaeran(Japanese invasion). Leading only 3,800 troops, General(Chung-Mu Gong) kim Si-Min killed 20,000 Japanese troops who invaded Jinjuseong in October of 1592, heightening Korea's national pride.

During the Japanese invasion, the general raised a lantern in the sky and floated lamplights and torches on the river to send military signals to loyal troops and other support forces outside the castle. The flowing lantern was used as a military tool to signal tactics on preventing Japanese troops from crossing the Namgang. It was also used for communication purposes. Soldiers inside the castle sere able to use the lantern as a means of expressing their safety to their families.