I stated a few weeks or so ago that sometimes I'm going to select a random day to blog about something that interests me in relation to South Korea aside from the music. So today I'm going to talk about cherry blossoms!
A
cherry blossom is the
flower of any of several trees of genus
Prunus, particularly the Japanese Cherry,
Prunus serrulata, which is sometimes called
sakura after the Japanese (桜 or 櫻; さくら).
However, although cherry blossoms originate in Japan, today I'm going to discuss the origin of the flower/tree and how it's influenced the culture of South Korea ... afterall, S.K.
is the main focus of my blog, right?^^
Topic of the day: Cherry blossom [click
here to view source]
"Hanami" is the centuries-old practice of picnicking under a blooming
sakura or
ume tree such as the image of the tree pictured above. The custom was originally limited to the elite of the Imperial Court, but soon spread to
samurai society and to the common people as well. Under the
sakura trees, people had lunch and drank sake in cheerful feasts.
Hanami festivals celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossom and for many are a chance to relax and enjoy the beautiful view.
In relation to South Korea, cherry blossoms were introduced to the culture during the Japanese rule. The festivals continued even after the Japanese surrendered in WWII, but have been contentious, and many cherry trees have been destroyed because they were seen as symbols of the occupation. However, South Korea is still well-known for their cherry blossoms. There has been considerable confusion about the origin of the cultivated Japanese cherry trees and the differences between them and native Korean trees. To elaborate: certain trees at
Seoul's Gyeongbok Palace were cut down to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Japanese surrender in
World War II. Although Cherry blossoms are already indigenous to Korea, Japan had planted trees on sacred and offensive locations in the Palace. Once the offending trees were cut down the festival continued with the indigenous trees. The cherry blossom festival at Gyeongbok Palace is one of a number of such festivals across Korea and is prominently advertised to tourists.
So, in addition the pop culture - music, fashion, k-dramas and tv series - travelling to South Korea can also indulge any nature-lovers (me being one of them) by visiting parks dedicated to cherry blossoms and perhaps having a small lunch under the shades of these trees.
