Samgwangsa Temple | A Captivating Lotus Lantern Festival in Busan with 40,000 Lanterns

I’ve long drooled over pictures of the Samgwangsa Temple Lotus Lantern Festival, without actually making the easy trip from Seoul to Busan to see it in person. Shameful, isn’t it? With 40,000 lanterns gloriously illuminating the temple, you can just imagine how breathtaking it is.

I’m happy to report that I finally remedied this situation last year.

When I scored tickets to see Haman’s nakhwa nori traditional fireworks festival, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Haman and Busan are just an hour’s drive apart, so it only made sense to make stops at 2 of Korea’s most sought after spring sights on a single trip.

Fortunately, both events delivered in spades. They were spectacularly beautiful, remarkable in scale, and totally unforgettable.

I’m even gonna go out on a limb here, and say that, in my opinion, Busan’s Samgwangsa Temple hosts the most staggering display of lotus lanterns in all of Korea. Do NOT miss it.

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Samgwangsa Temple Lotus Lantern Festival Quick Guide

Samgwangsa Temple Lotus Lantern Festival | 삼광사 연등축제

Even without the lantern extravaganza, Samgwangsa Temple is majestic in its own right.  You’d never guess from its grand size that it was only established in 1983. It’s part of Korea’s third largest Buddhist Order – Cheontae-jong – who’s head temple is gorgeous Guinsa in Danyang.

Despite its relative youth, the Samgwangsa Temple complex is vast and intricate, with ornate artwork, a 9 story pagoda, massive buildings, and sublime architecture.

From its perch on the slopes of Baegyangsan Mountain, Samgwangsa watches peacefully over central Busan, its dedication to Gwanseeum-bosal, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, mirrored in its silent gaze.

All bets for serenity are off during the Samgwangsa Lotus Lantern Festival though, as hordes of visitors descend upon the temple to gawk at its mesmerizing show of light. It is 100% worth the crowds and any discomfort you might experience.

Because Samgwangsa Temple stuns with 40,000 lanterns adorning its buildings, pagoda, and natural landscapes so brilliantly, it doesn’t feel real.

I wandered through the Samgwangsa Temple lotus lantern festival for hours, awestruck by its scale and beauty. It is truly an astonishing wonderland of light.

When is the Samgwangsa Lotus Lantern Festival?

FESTIVAL DATES: May 15th – 24th, 2026

The Samgwangsa Lotus Lantern Festival in Busan takes place every year in the weeks leading up to Buddha’s birthday. This date changes every year, with Buddha’s birthday observed on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar.

The Samgwangsa Lantern Festival usually begins about 3 weeks before Buddha’s birthday. The lights typically go dark before dawn on the day that Buddha came. In 2026, that’s on May 24th. This year, the end date of the festival will likely be either May 23rd or 24th.

If you want to see this truly remarkable lotus lantern festival, make sure you get down to Busan by the evening of May 23rd at the latest to be safe. Given that the lotus lanterns turn on at 7:00PM, and turn off at 1:00AM, this could mean there are no lit lanterns on the night of May 24th.

In 2026, the Samgwangsa Lotus Lantern Festival is slated to begin on May 15th at 7:00PM.

How to Get to Samgwangsa Temple in Busan?

Address: 77 Choeupcheon-ro 43beon-gil, Busanjin-gu, Busan | 부산광역시 부산진구 초읍천로43번길 77

Samgwangsa is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Seomyeon – Busan’s shopping district – so it’s very easy to get to.

When the lotus lantern festival isn’t on, it’s usually just a 5,500 won, 10 minute ride to the temple from Seomyeon Station.

What’s the best way to get to Samgwangsa’s Lotus Lantern Festival?

I recommend using public transit. There are several different bus routes available, but the closest, with the least amount of walking, is green town bus Busanjingu 15.

This route normally takes about 20 minutes. However, during the festival, it can take significantly longer, due to traffic congestion up to the temple on single lane roads.

To take this bus:

• Depart from the Yeonggwang Books bus stop. It’s across the street, and up the street a bit from Exit 9 of Seomyeon Station.
• Get off at the Samgwangsa Temple bus stop.
• Walk 1 minute into the temple.

We actually drove up to the temple trying to find parking (impossible) and got stuck in a long line of cars trying to do the same. We ended up driving back down and walking up to the temple.

Save yourself the time and hassle and use one of the bus routes that drops you at the base of Baegyangsan Mountain instead.

Essential Day Tours from Busan

I’ve traveled all over Korea during my 15 years as a resident of Seoul, and I really recommend that people travel independently as much as possible. It’s really such a safe country, and so easy to navigate once you acclimatize a little bit to how everything works.

There are however some places where it’s not only easier to take a day tour due to geography and transport, it works out to greater value once admissions are factored in. I’m obviously not a tourist to Korea, but if I was – these are the tours from Busan I’d be signing up for.

Navigating to Samgwangsa Temple

If you’d like to get off at the base of Baegyangsan instead – which I recommend – choose a bus route that stops at the Samgwangsa Temple Entrance bus stop (NOT Samgwangsa Temple). When I checked, buses 81, 133, and 54 made this trip, from various starting points near Seomyeon Station.

From this stop, it’s about a 15 minute walk up to the Samgwangsa Lotus Lantern Festival.

It’s crucial that you check these routes yourself, because things change incredibly fast in Korea. The most accurate way to navigate is to download Naver or Kakap Maps before landing in Seoul. Google Maps only works up to a point here.

A data plan for Korea, is vitally important for any navigation you do, because there are a zillion and one bus stops in Korea – sometimes right next to each other. Make sure you follow the GPS to find the correct bus or subway stop.

This is how we locals have to do it – and you’ll probably see us all staring at our phones trying to figure out where the heck we’re supposed to be too. You will not be out of place doing the same.

Things to do at Samgwangsa Temple

Aside from wandering meditatively around the temple grounds, gawking at all the glorious lotus lanterns, there are a few specific things you can do during the festival.

Seek out an Iconic View

Like you (probably), I saw this unbelievable carpet of colourful lotus lanterns at Samgwangsa Temple on social media. It is undoubtedly the most famous and iconic view of the festival. For good reason.

Typically (and annoyingly), big influencers gatekeep the exact location of where to take this picture. Let’s just say it took some effort to find the right location.

After wandering around fruitlessly (I mean Samgwangsa is HUGE), we eventually asked some staff members, and they directed us to the 2nd floor of the Jigwanjeon. This is a huge hall, with auditorium style seating for up to 10,000 people.

Don’t feel shy about walking up the stairs to the side where the windows are to get this gorgeous view at Samgwangsa Temple. It is worth it!

Limited Edition Spring Tours in Korea

From cherry blossoms in Jinhae to a sea of tulips in Taean, spring in Korea is positively alive with colour and wonderful things to do. Here are the spring tours to take advantage of in the months of March, April, and May.

These are the updated dates for 2026.

• King Cherry Blossom Tour from Seoul | April 16th – 30th
• Gwangyang Maehwa & Jeonju Hanok Village Tour | March 13th – 27th
• Jeju Cherry Blossom Tour with Hotel Pick-up | March 15th – April 19th
• Spring Flowers + King Cherry Blossoms at Hwaseong Fortress | March 26th – April 18th
• Jeonju Hanok Village + Spring Flower Festivals | March 29th – April 29th
• Seoul Seasonal Hot Attractions Tour | March 18th – May 13th
• Jeju Island Cherry Blossoms and Canola Private Taxi or Van Tour | March 20th – April 10th
• Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival Tour from Seoul or Busan | March 23rd – April 15th
• Haeundae Sky Capsule + Cherry Blossom Hunting in Busan | March 23rd – April 10th
• Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Tour from Busan | March 28th – April 10th
• Chasing Cherry Blossoms in Seoul | March 30th – April 17th
• Taean Tulip Festival + Strawberry Picking Experience | April 3rd – May 5th

Make a wish

Across Samgwangsa Temple, you’ll see lanterns with handwritten wishes hanging beneath them. There are lanterns of various shapes and sizes, with each paid for by an individual or group to symbolize good luck and good deeds.

Generally speaking, the bigger the lantern or statue, the higher the price. I have even seen stone statues at Bongeunsa Temple in Seoul for somewhere in the neighbourhood of $10,000!

Fortunately, it’s not necessary to pay such a high price for the privilege at the Samgwangsa Lotus Lantern Festival. You can write your wish for as little as 3,000 won. These booths are quite close to where you enter the temple and easy to locate.

I’m fairly certain that credit card payments are not possible, so make sure you have a little cash on hand if you’d like to do this.

Give Baby Buddha a bath

Have you heard of the gwanbul ceremony? This ritual is based on the legend that 9 dragons washed the baby Buddha with scented water when he was born.

Buddhists do this to symbolically cleanse their minds and bodies, and show respect to Buddha at the same time.

Temple Stay

It’s important to know that there isn’t a Temple Stay program at Samgwangsa conducted in languages other than Korean. Additionally, many temples shut down their programs during Buddha’s birthday festivities. They’re kind of busy during this time.

I am not sure if this is true for ALL temples in Korea though. The best thing to do if a temple stay is high on your list of priorities, is contact Temple Stay Korea for information.

They’ll be able to point you in the right direction.