Welcome Spring
By Shim Hyun-chul
Staff Reporter
Migratory birds are flying away, the fields are showing glimmers of green, and trees will soon sprout flower buds.
Spring is seeping in.
``Ipchun," a harbinger of spring and the first of 24 seasonal divisions of the lunar calendar, has come and gone but the chill is still here. Nevertheless, there is no denying the arrival, or rather the anticipation, of the arrival of spring.
The streams are defrosting, and grass is sprouting in fields in the countryside. Department stores windows are already feature brightly-colored spring outfits, and apartment verandas hang cleanly washed blankets. The plants along the roadside seem ready to bloom. Most tellingly, the colors of the flowers at the flower market say that spring is here.
"It's still winter, but you can feel spring coming when you visit the flower market. Flowers arrive a season earlier in our markets, so you can see hyacinths, tulips, magnolia trees and cherry blossom trees," said Park Ki-joung, owner of Joeun Garden, a flower shop located on the third floor of the Express Bus Terminal in Gangnam, southern Seoul.
If one day you feel a whiff of warm air passing by, might it be spring?
