A meditation pond at the Secret Garden of Changdeokgung Palace
Well, we've seen all four of Korea's seasons now. When we arrived here it was during in the intense steam oven weather of summer when everything was green. Summer made it's exit with the the brief but beautiful autumn, when all the trees blazed various shades of yellow and red. After that came the long, long, cold and colorless Korean winter, which had less snow than we had hoped for, but more sunny days than we have seen in a long time. Then at last came spring with its explosion of color. It started some time near the end of March and is still happening now at the end of April. It seems like everything here has flowers. All the the nondescript shrubs and trees that we've passed by all year surprised us by putting on a stunning floral display. As wonderful at is is to see the dazzling botanical show that is now all around us, it is lovely to see how the people of our host country respond to it. Springtime is selfie time! Everywhere you go you see people taking pictures of the flowers, of themselves in front of an azalea, of parent and child in front of cherry blossoms, etc. If ever you come to Korea, consider doing it in April. To entice you, here is a photo journal of the past month.
It begins with the forsythias....
Girls in hanbok dresses capturing the beauty of Korea in the spring
The next trees to bloom are the magnolias. Their white blossoms stand out in stark contrast to the winter-brown world around them.
Star magnolias at Bulguksa Temple
Star magnolia with bell pavilion in background
Next comes the Cherry trees! Many Korean sources claim that the cherry trees seen all over Asia originally came from the Korean island of Jeju, but they actually originated in the Himalayas.
a canopy of pink petals at the famous Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival
This man was so taken by the beauty of the trees that he stopped is car in the middle of the road and started taking pictures. This was in the city of Gyeongju, where we had brought Jen's mother here to see the many historic sites. The cherries weren't blooming during our visit, but as we were in the taxi on our way to the train station on the last morning, we realized that every tree had erupted with blossoms overnight, so we stayed an extra day.
Korean culture on display: the parent-child connection is very strong and enduring, dogs are small and usually wear clothes, people love to walk on the municipal trails (there must be over 1000 miles of walking paths in Seoul). Also, notice the pink petals littering the ground. After the cherry blossoms peak, there is a week when the air is filled with pink snow, and drifts of petals line every street.
This was the first day of cherry blossom season, and everyone in Gyeoungju grabbed a camera and took to the streets.
As soon as the cherry trees finish, it's time for the azaleas to put on a show. This part of spring took us by surprise. We had heard about the cherry trees, but we didn't realize that almost every shrub along the streets and walkways are azaleas until they erupted into color!
The secret garden
A walking path in our dong (neighborhood)
A memorial rock at a park in Seoul
A sea of color at Namsangol Hanok village
So that is how winter transitions into spring here in Korea. It is wonderful to see how much effort the municipalities put into providing their citizens with beautiful open spaces, and the degree to which people enjoy them. Keep in mind that most of these pictures were taken in the world's third largest city.
We have taken lots of wonderful pictures this season, so here are a few more ...
Burial mounds of the ancient Silla kings in Gyeongju
The yellow tree in the foreground is one of the first types of tree to bloom. The weeping cherries in the back were wonderful.
The weeping willows are also beautiful.
Sorry for over-sharing. Buddha's birthday is coming right up, so the next post should be good.
