Travel attractions not to miss in Korea in March,The Gwangyang Maehwa Flower Festival(광양 매화축제)

Ah! I have been hungry for spring. I'm waiting for the spring scent. After passing long and tedious winter, it doesn't not allow for me to stay inside and push me the south area to meet blooming Spring. Plum is a flower that conveys the first spring news after passing through cold winter in Korea. It is a flower that has been loved by Koreans for a long time because it is a regular material of literature in the past. These days, it has received a lot of love in a very good natural fermented foods.

I went out early in the morning to go to the plum village. The plum blossom festival of HongSsangRi Farm (홍쌍리 청매실농원) is held each year on March,duration 8th Mar~17th Mar 2019, in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province which is in the southern end and can be  reached from Seoul for three and a half hours by bus. It was a long time of 3 hours and 30 minutes, but I felt the spring feeling when I looked out of the window with excitement. Even so, I managed to get forty winks  for a while, so I felt like it was not hard for me to ride the bus. The parking lot was packed with lots of cars and tour buses from nationwide. There was already in festive mood with each tent sold various local foods as well as with flocked Springtime picnickers of March who are longing for Spring. I have heard that plum blossom grows in popular in the country of South Korea, China, Japan located in East Asia.

PLUM BLOSSOM

It is expressed come along with the modifier called 'plum in snow ' because the tree flowers in between late winter and early spring and sometimes it covered with late snow. It has been cultivated from long ago as an ornamental tree in the garden of the upper class and expressed in many literary works and works of art with pure, bright and deep floral scents, as a symbol of expressing elegance, purity, innocence, longing and hope metaphorically in Korea. 

Plum Blossom and Birds

My heart was felt calmness and warmness by softly light beige-colored sands and my nose was tickled gentle breeze of the Seomjin river when I stood on the sightseeing deck and looked away down the lower side. So, looking at the river and its soft colored sand, I recognized why the river appeared in so many literary works.  The old tiled houses and the thatched house built in many places within the farm add to the feeling of plum blossom village. It seemed like a white snow field.

Earthenware pots are fermenting the fruit of plum

 The fruits harvested around the beginning of June have so strong sour taste that it is not easy for us to eat right away as the type of fruit. After process of the fermentation usually, they are eaten in the form of alcohol, tea, concentrate, pickled dishes. Thanks to the trends of wellness, explosive popularity rose for last few decades. This is a necessity for each household. Most families in Korea use the fruit of this plum in June to ferment and make plum concentrate. In particular, there is no natural food that exceeds the digestibility of this concentrate.

I know that the plum village here is used as a venue for TV dramas. Especially, the scene of the moonlit night in which the plum blossom was full was so beautiful. I thought the reason is quite understandable. I could not deny that it is the best place for romantic atmosphere. Springtime in Korea is not so long. Please hurry before the spring is over. Come on!