Springtime in Jeju

Views of Jeju from March 20th-April 10th 

I started uploading photos for this post during the mid of April (surprise, surprise a month later I actually posted).  Thus while it is May and still officially Spring, the photos above are representative of only a short period of this season here in Jeju (what we are currently experiencing in terms of climate is more like Summer… over the last 2-3 weeks we have consistently had temperatures hovering in the low to mid 20*s). 

The weather started to warm up here in early March which commenced the rapid blooming of both the Canola fields and the Cherry Blossom trees.  The canola flowers were present for approximately a month and a half, while the Cherry blossoms began blooming at the end of March, stood beautifully in their full glory for about 4 whole days, and then began to fall  like a gentle winter snow, all within a period of 3 short weeks (they are particularly sensitive to temperature increases). Needless to say, my morning runs through the park were actually something I looked forward to for a little while rather than being a thankless chore (I have been running consistently now, at least 4 days a week and there are no freaking results!!!).  It was especially beautiful on the days that the preschool teachers would bring their classes to the park and let the kindergartners play with falling flowers… I swear I caught a glimpse of young love in a couple of their eyes…

In order to appreciate the flowers in all their splendor, I spent a couple of weekends outdoors doing hikes, strolling through the streets and Jeju Arboretum (also known as Jeju Non-Spontaneous Plants Garden… check out photos from my “Dear Diary” post for clarification) and on the day of the Cherry Blossom festival which fell on the weekend of April 4th-5th, I had a  picnic at Jeju National University with Robyn and Soyoung despite a major Soju hangover from the night before (every moment here is precious!… I will not let my daily activities interfere with my relationship with Soju! [p.s. I am totally kidding and that relationship is finished... it just turned out to be too toxic for me].).  The picnic was lovely, but the festival was just another opportunity for vendors to sell things and for visitors to feel complete and utter clausterphobia as apparently everyone from the entire island decided to come and shop and perhaps frolick in the flowers for that perfect cutesy Korean photo.  I had enough after about an hour and decided to head home to recooperate in order to be in decent shape when I went to pick up Nicole from the airport (she was arriving in Jeju that same day).  Actually, come to think of it,  I don’t think I mentioned this at all prior to now.  My friend Nicole, whom both Robyn and I knew from University (she was actually my roommate as well during 2nd year!),  is now here teaching as well!  She came at the perfect time, because a week later, the Cherry Blossoms were completely gone, and all that is now left is a series of unassuming trees that bear no evidence of their temporary beauty.

Contrary to the deceptive name, Cherry Blossoms do not later bare any actual cherries here in Korea.  Apparently they are the same trees, however they are bred to be sterile and thus produce no fruit… probably just for their aesthetic qualities.  The rapeseed Flowers (also often referred to here as “Rape” with a perfume sold here in the Jeju Duty Free Shop of the same name… another example of Konglish gone horribly wrong) are also grown for their esthetic qualities and are not later cultivated to produce oil or any other product.  Jeju is after all a tourist destination, and while I am often in awe of a blatant lack of utility or resourcefulness of many aspects of Korean culture, the beautiful flowers of Jeju are certainly not something I am complaining about.

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