Cherry Blossoms

This past weekend, Jo took me to Cheongju - the central province of Korea - to see the cherry blossom festival as well as meet some of her friends. I had a really good time, and enjoyed immensely. We left on Saturday afternoon and came back on Sunday afternoon. Her friends are all very nice and showed a lot of hospitality. Jo showed me around her university and the art buildings that she went to while she attended. It was a very nice university, and I wouldn't mind studying there myself! We visited the unversity and then went and saw the cherry blossoms along the river. I have tons of pictures of it.

Afterwards, we went to Jo's friend's house, where we all had delicious sumgyupsal in her kitchen. It was a little crowded, but it was lots of fun. I couldn't understand much of what people were talking about, but I felt really comfortable and as if I were among friends. After a huge dinner, we drank and then played Go-Stop. I was ahead in the winnings until the last round, where the bets were doubled, and I lost it all in a ridiculously high-scoring game. Easy come, easy go! It was raining incredibly hard that night. It is a memory that I won't soon forget! At one point, I had a "take-a-step-back" moment, and saw myself playing Go-stop and eating sumgyupsal with a bunch of Koreans who didn't speak very much English, in a torrential rain, during a cherry blossom festival, and I thought to myself that "it really doesn't get much better than this". It felt idyllically Asian and it was really fantastic.

We spent the night at Jo's friend's house, then set out the next day top see the blossoms again before heading home (after a pizza buffet at Jo's old favorite pizza joint, near the university). Some people expected there to be no blossoms left after the torrential rain, but they were actually fuller in bloom and much more beautiful. All in all, I was incredibly lucky to have been able to witness it all, because the cherry blossoms really only bloom for about 5 days a year, and I caught 2 of those days. Truly magnificent.

Below are the photos from the trip as well as some photos taken from around Bundang over the past while. The flowers are in full bloom right now!

A bunch of kaenari flowers, in full bloom right now. 

This tree is heavy with large, white flowers that bloom in the spring. Jo told me the name of them in Korean, but I have since forgotten. I looked for them online, and I believe they may indeed be magnolias. If I'm wrong, do correct me. Jo explained to me that they're a great spring flower, because they look like giant snowballs on the trees. When they wilt, the flowers fall to the ground and turn a stark brown - a good symbol for the passing of winter (the snow falling from the trees and melting into earth). They're my favorite. 

Pinky-purple flowers that bloom in the mountains - and here, on my way to work.  

Here is a giant golden pagoda in Cheongju. This is the center of a unique religion in Korea. I can't remember the name of the religion right now, and I can't find it on the internet, so for now, it will remain unnamed. The basic practices (from what I'm told) focus on communicating and appealing to one's dead ancestors. Also, central to the religion, is the idea that a messiah will come to save the faithful and ressurrect their ancestors. The followers give up their personal belongings and live near this temple. They believe the messiah's return is near, so they pray in a nearby temple both night and day.This 5-storied pagoda is painted entirely in real gold - both outside and inside. The premises are guarded with many dogs (I guess to discourage theives). We were given a tour of the inside of this temple and another by a lady at the front gate. I was told it was ok to take pictures, so I did! Seeing everything painted in gold was really amazing. This temple sure stands out from far away. 

Here is a Korean drum. These are the large variety - used to call worshippers to prayer or teachings. They are traditionally used in Buddhist temples, but has been adapted for this pagoda. 

When you walk into the temple, you see this. It is a modified Korean motif - a turtle supporting a large obelisk or statue above. However, this one has a dragon's head instead of a turtle's. And it's painted entired with gold paint. 

Hmmm. What is this? This is story one of the 3-story high giant statue of the religion's "messiah". I guess these are his legs. Scroll down for the 2nd and 3rd stories. 

Here are several statues flanking the GIANT 3-story high statue of the "messiah". 

Everything.... I mean EVERYTHING was in gold.  

The second and third stories of the 3-story-high statue of the "messiah".  

A closer view of the outside of the temple. 

A bunch of cherry blossoms, close-up. They look white, but they are pink in places. I think the maturity of the flowers have an effect on their hue. I think the land region also has an effect. The mountain blossoms still haven't bloomed. 

Special effects! You're in the tree! You're in the tree! Tree-o-vision! 

Cherry blossoms. 

This picture is currently my computer desktop background. Across the river are several Buddhist temples.

The cherry blossoms, Japan's national flower, were introduced extensively during the Japanese occupation. In an effort to stamp out all Korean culture, the Japanese tried desperately to make Korea seem as Japanese as possible. They changed people's names, destroyed native flowers and introduced foreign ones, and they even tried to disrupt traditional mountainous energy flow patterns by erecting huge poles on the peaks of mountains. The cherry blossoms are perhaps bittersweet in a certain way, for their beauty and their reminder of the Japanese occupation. Some Koreans sometimes remark that the cherry blossom, like Japan, blooms splendidly but only very briefly before it falls away - reflecting some peoples' opinion about Japan. 

More magnolias (I think). This tree was more resplendent with flowers than others. I personally like the magnolias better than the cherry blossoms, but they don't show up as nicely on film. Er, pixels. 

This hopefully gives you a sense of scale for the blossoms. The individual flowers remind me of the flowers that blossom on the apple tree in my family's back yard. 

The cherry blossoms line the side of the walkway. 

Here, you can see the tree more fully in bloom. The flowers are amazing.  

When the cherry blossoms wilt, the petals fall to the ground. It's supposedly like walking in a snow storm. 

I tried to get a picture of both the cherry blossoms and the kaenari in the same shot... it didn't work out that great, but this picture is cool for its field of view. Everywhere, there's bloomin' flowers. 

I took a lot of pictures of the cherry blossoms, didn't I? 

More and more cherry blossoms. 

Lovely Jo, by the Kaenari.