March 25th, 2018
South Korea has finally reached Spring (Although it’s hard to tell these days due to the rain and cold weather)! The southern parts of the country are the first place to witness the transition into spring and that means flower festivals! The first flower festival I decided to hit up this year is none other than the Gwangyang Maehwa Festival (광양매화축제)!
Gwangyang International Maehwa Festival, usually at the end of March, takes place in Seomjin Village (Home to the largest number of plus blossom trees in South Korea). According to the “VisitKorea” website, visitors can take a walk underneath the plus blossoms, as well as sample various local organic plus products!
I think maybe it’s because we went to the festival on the last day this year (March 17th, 2018 - March 25th, 2018), there were a TON of people and everyone was trying to catch a glimpse of these beautiful plum blossoms.
There was traffic going into the festival so we decided to hop off the bus and merrily walk over to the village! Just follow the crowds of people and you will reach your destination!
I recall video chatting my parents the following day, “say, mom, I’ve never seen a maehwa tree before have I?” Of course not, they don’t grow where we live. So this experience is actually quite new to me! It looks quite similar to cherry blossoms but at the same time, they are not cherry blossoms but plum blossoms.
Like how the picture looks, it was quite hard to get a decent photo without waiting for gaps in between the passerbys but it was all well worth it in the end. Since I brought my actual tripod with me to the festival, I was able to set it up and take pictures of myself during this beautiful festival (I swear I’m not a narcissist… Maybe a little bit? But I still have a complex with myself).
Oh please, I’m trying to have a decent picture of myself beside this beautiful tree. Can you please let me have my moment?! I was trying to take pictures, and they just kept on ignoring my efforts and walks right into my picture ><
Phew, finally! I got a decent one so I can send to my mom hahaha.
You might ask, what is that flower crown on your head? Did you actually bring that yourself? Well the answer is no.
While we were walking towards the festival village, there were a few vendors selling the flower crown I’m wearing on my head! My friends wanted one so we all just decided to get one, I feel it goes very well with the pictures ahhaha.
However, despite the number of people that were there, the festival was still a very unique experience and I would definitely want to come back if I am in Korea at this time of year again in the future!
**I’m actually not playing on my phone but rather controlling my camera ㅋㅋㅋ**
Local organic Plus Products, so we had to dish out our money and try the Plum Blossom ice cream! The flavor was unique and it was definitely something that makes me reminisence on my time at the festival. Even writing this post at the moment, I can still remember how the ice cream tasted and felt on my tongue (Shows how much of a foodie I really Am).
All in All, This festival: I DEFINITELY recommend! It’s so pretty! Minus the people of course.
I didnt’ take a regular bus from Seoul since I signed up for a tour with a tour group that is based in Seoul. However, from several websites I see:
A little picture diary I did in Chinese (hehe):From Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal, take an express bus to Gwangyang (광양) Terminal. I suppose there are shuttle buses that takes you to the village?Too much work? Look for tour groups that offers trips to Gwangyang! Oftentimes, they would take up a whole weekend and would go to a nearby place as well! You will not regret it!
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