Jeongwol Daeboreum Events in Korea

 

*** UPDATE *** 02/17/11 10:50 am: EVENTS ARE A GO IN HAEUNDAE!!!!!! repeat… EVENTS ARE A GO IN HAEUNDAE *****
Here is the link for more info, but be it known that it is also raining today

MORE IN FORMATION HERE TOO

After reading Korea How’s latest article Korea’s 7 “Can’t Miss” Festivals” by Ed Provencher. It occurred to me that it is almost time for Ji Bul Nori! This is where people attend a fire festival and swing pots of fire around in a circle. Absolutely fantastic!

Ed points out that the Jeongweol Daeboreum Festival is one of the top festivals in Korea and totally worth visiting. I will happily second that notion! It is a great experience and one that involves a lot of fire. The largest of which is in Jeju Island but there are others located around the country but this year, sadly they maybe cancelled due to the outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease.

I checked around the internet to try and find out information on this year’s events in Korea but I could only find information on events in… you guessed it, SEOUL and JEJU. As for my fair city of Ulsan, sadly it is cancelled. Busan looks like a no show as the most recent posts come from last year.

At any rate, here are some tips to help you with your shots:

1. Bring a tripod These are night festivals and more often than not, I see people trying to handhold their cameras to get shot of the torch procession, moon house burning, and ji-bul-nori. The best thing to do is steady your camera on a tripod and fire away.

2. Use a Slow Shutter Speed If you are focussing on the ji-bul-nori or fire spinning, us a slow shutter speed (hen the need for a tripod) and get some light painting in. This is a great time to experiment with light painting and it will really make your photos interesting.

3. Get Set Up Early Last year I had to battle a lot of other photographers for a unique vantage point. I was lucky to get there a bit early but sadly I was a little too far from the action to get anything interesting. Getting set up early means that all you have to do is wait for the shots to come to you.

4. Tell a Story You may get caught up in the action but try and keep a theme for what you are shooting. It will help give your photos relevance later.

If you want more information on the best festivals in Korea, visit KOREA HOW
For More info on travel around Korea, check out Ed’s blog Tigers and Magpies