Catholic Archbishop of Seoul Peter Chung Soon-taick says this year’s lantern lighting festival marking Buddha's birthday will be a more joyous event as it will be held at full scale for the first time in three years.

Chung made the remark on Friday in a congratulatory message conveyed to the Buddhist community as the nation prepares to celebrate Buddha’s birthday next Sunday.

Chung noted that the festival, with its long history and tradition, was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in December 2020. The upcoming parade will be the first of its kind since the inscription.

The archbishop said this year’s event is all the more significant as it coincides with the nation’s post-pandemic recovery efforts.

The annual festival marking Buddha's birthday had been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.