🌸 Cherry Blossoms 🌸
in South Korea
Cherry trees have been used in Korea for a long time. It has been used in making bows and woodblocks (Palman Daejanggyeong). According to tradition, monks used wood from silver magnolias, white birches, and cherry trees from the Southern coast of the peninsula. The origins of cherry blossoms in South Korea is contentious.
The Japanese planted Yoshino cherry trees at Seoul's Changgyeonggung Palace and the viewing of cherry blossoms was introduced to Korea during Japanese rule. The festivals continued even after the Japanese surrendered at the end of WWII but have been controversial, and many cherry trees were cut down to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Japanese surrender because they were seen as symbols of the occupation. Yet Koreans continued to plant Yoshino cherry trees and festivals began attracting a wide range of tourists. Many Korean media assert that the Yoshino cherry is the same species as a Korean indigenous, endangered species called King cherry, whose mass production is still being studied.
In 2007, a study conducted on the comparison of
King cherry and
Yoshino cherry concluded that these trees were
categorized as distinct species. In 2016, a study on DNA analyses
suggested the independent origin between
According to the results of a survey published in 2022, most of the cherry trees planted in the National Assembly area and Yeouido, two of the capital's most famous cherry blossom viewing spots, were Japanese Yoshino cherry trees, with 90.4% of the cherry trees in the National Assembly area and 96.4% in Yeouido, and none of them were Korean King Cherry trees. Based on the results of this survey, the King cherry Project 2050, an incorporated association, plans to gradually replace Yoshino cherry trees with King cherry by around 2050. In Korea, cherry blossoms have the meaning of purity and beauty.
👉 Where to find cherry blossoms in South Korea 2023?