Monday, April 17, 2023

2023 Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival



After years of Covid closures, the Cherry Blossom Festival finally returned to Junjungno, the street that circles around the top end of Yeouido at the Korean government's legislative center.

Of course, the flowers return every year, but this is the first time the crowds of people have returned to view them since 2019! You can see there lots and lots of folks, possibly more than I expected on a Sunday morning before the Festival officially opened on Monday.


The pic above shows that the festival is not just about the cherries (a gift to Korea from the Japanese governemnt from around the same time as they gifted the ones found in Washington, DC's tidal basin to the US), but is actualy the "spring flower" festival, what with the 개나리 kenari, aka golden bell, a member of the forsythia family. Below, a gorgeous tulip in one of the roadside planters, followed by two little fellows posing for photo ops!