Cherry blossoms in Suncheon.

No, this isn't coming up this weekend, but with the papers saying flowers will bloom earlier this year maybe it's time to think about heading somewhere to see them. There are a few festivals in the area, like the Apricot Festival this weekend, the Sansuyu Festival, and the Pear Blossom Festival that should be coming up in Naju soon. Cherry blossoms are also a popular seasonal thing, and if you're looking for a place to see them around here, why don't you come to Suncheon? I ask that as a suggestion, and not as a coteacher trying to be polite but coming across as demanding. Anyway, there is a small festival in Gurye each year, but my girlfriend gives it a thumbs down because it's such a pain in the ass to get to. And the traditional spots like Yeouido or Jinhae are either too far away or too crowded to be worth the trip, in my opinion. Suncheon, by contrast, has cherry trees all along the river that runs through town, and is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon. Here are a couple pictures I took last spring, March 30th.





The area you'll want to visit is bookended by fields of forsythia (개나리) about two blocks from the bus terminal and by Suncheon National University to the north. In between you'll find duckie boats (aww!) and Jukdobong Park (죽도봉), a hill-top park with nice views of Suncheon's west end. A few more photos in my flickr set and earlier mention of Jukdobong and Bonghwasan in this post. Actually, it was nearly two years ago that I visited Suncheon for the first time, while living in Gangjin county, and you'll find some photos of springtime at Seonamsa temple and around town in this flickr set.