Flower festivals to raise curtain on spring

Domestic tourists enjoy the Cherry Blossom Festival held in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province, early every April. / Courtesy of Changwon Tour

By Kim Jae-heun

With spring approaching, many flower festivals across the country are dragging people from their homes to enjoy the long-awaited warm season.

One of Koreans' favorite flowers in spring is, without a doubt, the cherry blossom. Yeouido in Seoul is most crowded in April with people gathering to look at the cherry blossoms in full bloom.

But nobody can deny that the best town to savor the cherry blossom festival in the country is Jinhae in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

Situated in the southernmost part of the Korean Peninsula, Jinhae is about 370 kilometers from Seoul _ taking over five hours to get there by car.

However, over 2 million tourists visit there annually for the country's biggest cherry blossom festival, the 10-day Jinhae Gunhangje Festival.

Sailors march in a military parade during the 10-day Jinhae Gunhangje Festival held together with the Cherry Blossom Festival in Jinhae. / Courtesy of Changwon Tour

This year, the festival celebrates its 56th anniversary, running April 1 to 10. Some 360,000 flowering cherry blossom trees line the roads alongside the 1.5 kilometer-long stream and looking at the white petals falling from them after three weeks is grandeur.

Walking down the road, many couples stop by to take photos of themselves on the Yeojwacheon Romance Bridge, where the spot was set as the background of the hit TV drama “Romance” in 2002. Since then, the location was chosen as one of the 100 most beautiful roads in the country.

However, the festival is more locally meaningful for Jinhae which is home to the Korean Navy. The Coast Guard that had its origins in the district became the matrix of the country's navy since liberation from Japan in 1945. Jinhae hosts major naval facilities such as the Republic of Korea Fleet Command, the Naval Education & Training Command and the Republic of Korea Naval Academy. The area is restricted on normal occasions, but opens to the public during the festival when the whole place becomes covered with cherry blossom flowers. Still, visitors can only watch from inside the car, as walking on the grounds or taking photos is prohibited.

Military parades commemorating the victory of Admiral Yi Sun-shin over the Japanese invasion attempt were the beginning of Gunhangje, literally “military base festival.” The admiral's statue was erected in the Bukwon Rotary area in Jinhae on April 1952 and people cherish the memory of the country's most respected hero. In 1963, the commemorative event expanded to adopt other events such as street performances, carnival stalls and street lighting along with the military parade to turn into Gunhangje and the magnificent sight of the cherry blossoms has played a big part in gathering millions of spectators to the festival.

Everland launches tulip festival

Friends take a selfie in the tulip garden during the flower festival held by Everland every March to April in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of Everland

If traveling all the way down to Jinhae is a hassle, visiting Korea's largest theme park, Everland, could be another option. Located at the Everland Resort in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, 47 kilometers south of Seoul, residents in the capital city can get there riding on many modes of transportation within 90 minutes.

The theme park was originally farmland called “Jayeon Nongwon,” which roughly translates to “natural farm.” Continuing its heritage, Everland has been hosting the Tulip Festival to offer various spring attractions every March through April.

This year's festival opened last Friday, introducing over 110 different kinds of flowers including narcissus and muscari. Everland has increased its tulip exhibition area by 40 percent this year compared to that of 2017, displaying nearly 1.2 million fresh blooms for the country's earliest flower festival. People will have the opportunity to witness 10 different types of lilies and several rare species of tulips including “Aladdin” and “Pretty Woman” tulips.

The main stage of the Tulip Festival, the “Four Season's Garden” turns into “Magical Tulip Garden” for the 45-day event, where Everland's mascot Lara lives. The Magical Tulip Garden consists of six different theme zones including flower house, zoo and garden.

Chefs offer various foods specially prepared for Everland's Tulip Festival that kicked off last Saturday in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of Everland

At the main gate of the Global Fair zone, the park established a European flower market named “Marche aux Fleurs,” where people can take photos with trains decorated with flowers and pot fairies. A flower boutique will open on weekends for people to purchase their favorite tulips in a pot.

Everland has prepared various outdoor performances during the Tulip Festivals too.

On a daily basis, three to five “Photo Wonderland” shows will bring 20 spring characters like bees and larva to take photos with visitors in the afternoon, while fireworks will decorate the sky at night.

Apart from that, Everland will host carnival concepts like that of Brazil's Rio, Italy's Venice and the Caribbean festivals.

Everland created a tulip hot dog using natural colors to sell during its Tulip Festival this year in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of Everland

The theme park also introduced 120 new foods for the Tulip Festival including Tulip hotdog. The chef draws tulips on classic hotdog bread using natural coloring.

The Garden Terrace offers sherbet with rose-shaped ice cream on top for people to enjoy while viewing 1.2 million tulips from the top.

At the Spanish restaurant at Everland, the dishes will be served with yellow sunflower decorations on the side.

Visit everland.com for more information.