By Bernard Rowan
Spring is a time when I think of Korea's national flower, the "mugunghwa," or the Korean rose, even though the shrub doesn't yet bloom. The wonderful flowers remind me of Korea's beauty. Common today outside of Asia, this national flower's history and life say a lot about Korea. Let's talk a bit about the Korean rose.
When I was young, my mother and maternal grandmother loved to plant and cultivated what we called Rose of Sharon shrubs. I remember one in my childhood backyard that grew to an impressive size. Its beautiful green foliage took root, and the shrub grew each year. The purplish flowers appeared in summer and fall and littered the ground for a time. The leaves and blooms showed rich color. The honeybees and bumblebees visited the flowers. My father pruned the shrub, or it would just keep growing. The pruning kept it healthy and strong, shielded by a corner of our house that enjoyed a mix of sun and rainwater.
Little did I know then it was Korea's flower. The mugunghwa came to the West from India and Asia long ago. The Latin name for mugunghwa is hibiscus syriacus. It's more common to call it hibiscus. I've enjoyed hibiscus tea a few times but never knew hibiscus was the same flower from the mugunghwa tree. The flower's other names include St. Joseph's Rod, Rose Mallow, and Syrian Ketmia.
The hibiscus flower has five petals typically. The blooms may be white, light purple, blue, red or pink, or some combinations. The mugunghwa appears in many Korean images and symbols. It also connects to Confucian values, including the five kinds of piety or respect: elder and junior, husband and wife, parents and children, friends, and leader and follower. There are other powerful quintets in Confucian thinking, and the Korean Rose represents them all! I've read that mugunghwa appear in many ancient Korean manuscripts and relics from Silla period and before. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety website says that China knew Korea as the place of mugunghwa.
The word mugunghwa stems from the Korean word for eternity, a flower that doesn't fade, or the quality of plenty (mugung). These meanings reflect the tree's flowering but also symbolize Korea. Though many of my Korean seniors talk of the poverty of the South in history and after the 1950-53 Korean War, my admittedly poor study of Korean history differs a bit.
Korea's civilization rises throughout the course of history, and it seeks and finds plenty or flowering humanity out of poverty. The Miracle on the Han River, which enters a new stage currently, represents well the Korean rose. I think Koreans should make more of this flower in its real and symbolic forms as a 21st century image of her people and society.
I'll say the flower represents the everlasting and enduring importance of the Confucian virtues or humanity, justice, knowledge, integrity and proper conduct. While the values shift and change over time in their meaning and application, they continue. Just like the mugunghwa, they take different colors, and their uses remain.
The interesting Korea.net webpage on mugunghwa says the image of Korea's Rose suffered in colonial times because of association with colonialism and Japan. Rubbish. Freedom fighters took the Korean rose as a symbol of resistance to the Japanese! The efforts and sacrifice of these men and women shouldn't fade from memory. I hope this century sees a renaissance for the mugunghwa in cultural appreciation. Twin your rose with the ladybug, my favorite insect, to make perfect their living and continued representation of eternity on earth.
I hope Koreans plant many more of this beautiful shrub in all kinds of important places. I hope they'll appear in villages and flower shops and places of reverence and celebration. If ever I have a yard (having quit urban living), I'll grow several of different colors.
Now, may the symbol of Korea's Rose continue to carry the spirit of Korean civilization to new heights, both at home and abroad. Let them show Kim and Trump a way forward! See the beauty and meaning of life in Korea's Rose. Cultivate it to remind us of Korean and universal humanity. Oh, flower of Korea, share your beauty with us and remind us of today and tomorrow' promise and possibility.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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When I was young, my mother and maternal grandmother loved to plant and cultivated what we called Rose of Sharon shrubs. I remember one in my childhood backyard that grew to an impressive size. Its beautiful green foliage took root, and the shrub grew each year. The purplish flowers appeared in summer and fall and littered the ground for a time. The leaves and blooms showed rich color. The honeybees and bumblebees visited the flowers. My father pruned the shrub, or it would just keep growing. The pruning kept it healthy and strong, shielded by a corner of our house that enjoyed a mix of sun and rainwater.
Little did I know then it was Korea's flower. The mugunghwa came to the West from India and Asia long ago. The Latin name for mugunghwa is hibiscus syriacus. It's more common to call it hibiscus. I've enjoyed hibiscus tea a few times but never knew hibiscus was the same flower from the mugunghwa tree. The flower's other names include St. Joseph's Rod, Rose Mallow, and Syrian Ketmia.
The hibiscus flower has five petals typically. The blooms may be white, light purple, blue, red or pink, or some combinations. The mugunghwa appears in many Korean images and symbols. It also connects to Confucian values, including the five kinds of piety or respect: elder and junior, husband and wife, parents and children, friends, and leader and follower. There are other powerful quintets in Confucian thinking, and the Korean Rose represents them all! I've read that mugunghwa appear in many ancient Korean manuscripts and relics from Silla period and before. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety website says that China knew Korea as the place of mugunghwa.
The word mugunghwa stems from the Korean word for eternity, a flower that doesn't fade, or the quality of plenty (mugung). These meanings reflect the tree's flowering but also symbolize Korea. Though many of my Korean seniors talk of the poverty of the South in history and after the 1950-53 Korean War, my admittedly poor study of Korean history differs a bit.
Korea's civilization rises throughout the course of history, and it seeks and finds plenty or flowering humanity out of poverty. The Miracle on the Han River, which enters a new stage currently, represents well the Korean rose. I think Koreans should make more of this flower in its real and symbolic forms as a 21st century image of her people and society.
I'll say the flower represents the everlasting and enduring importance of the Confucian virtues or humanity, justice, knowledge, integrity and proper conduct. While the values shift and change over time in their meaning and application, they continue. Just like the mugunghwa, they take different colors, and their uses remain.
The interesting Korea.net webpage on mugunghwa says the image of Korea's Rose suffered in colonial times because of association with colonialism and Japan. Rubbish. Freedom fighters took the Korean rose as a symbol of resistance to the Japanese! The efforts and sacrifice of these men and women shouldn't fade from memory. I hope this century sees a renaissance for the mugunghwa in cultural appreciation. Twin your rose with the ladybug, my favorite insect, to make perfect their living and continued representation of eternity on earth.
I hope Koreans plant many more of this beautiful shrub in all kinds of important places. I hope they'll appear in villages and flower shops and places of reverence and celebration. If ever I have a yard (having quit urban living), I'll grow several of different colors.
Now, may the symbol of Korea's Rose continue to carry the spirit of Korean civilization to new heights, both at home and abroad. Let them show Kim and Trump a way forward! See the beauty and meaning of life in Korea's Rose. Cultivate it to remind us of Korean and universal humanity. Oh, flower of Korea, share your beauty with us and remind us of today and tomorrow' promise and possibility.
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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