24 Mar 2009, Posted by Matt in Buddhist Temples, Festivals & Holidays, Food & Drink, Gyeongsang, Historic Korea, Nature, 36 Comments

Jinhae’s Cherry Blossoms

On the road from Masan to Jinhae. After emerging from a tunnel, the hills are covered in pink blossoms.

The city of Jinhae (진해시), is a special city located on a mountainous stretch of Korea’s namhae, or southern coastline. The town is best known as home to the world’s largest number of flowering cherry trees, or beotkkot namu (벚꽃 나무). For only a few short weeks each spring, an estimated 340,000 trees burst into a virtual sea of pale-pink blossoms. Fortunately, for the past 46 years, the hospitable people of Jinhae have shared their local treasure with the world as hosts of the Jinhae Gunhangjae (군항제), or Naval Port Festival.

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15 Mar 2009, Posted by Matt in Chungcheong, Festivals & Holidays, Gyeonggi, Gyeongsang, Jeju, Jeolla, Nature, Seoul, 3 Comments

Spring 2009 Flower Festivals Calendar

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14 Nov 2008, Posted by Matt in Historic Korea, Nature, Seoul, 5 Comments

The Glorious Gingko

The Ewha University campus features some pretty spectacular horticulture, including lots of golden ginkgo trees.

When I first came to Seoul, I quickly noticed there was a tree of choice lining the streets. Seoul doesn’t have many landscaped medians or sidewalks, so I felt that this seemingly unremarkable tree, with its rough dark bark and small, pale-green, fan-shaped leaves, was a disappointing choice. Why couldn’t Seoul have imported Jinhae‘s beloved cherry trees or some of the big maples found in New England towns?

These questions only became more pointed in early October, when these trees dropped their stinky little fruits all over the sidewalk. Step on one and you’d regret it the rest of the day. But this time last year, when autumn truly swept in and the temps fell, these previously unremarkable trees morphed. Suddenly their hohum leaves turned solid gold, which contrasted beautifully with their black bark.

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