Importance of cherry blossom season in South Korea
Cherry Blossom (sakura) season is a huge event in Japan drawing millions of visitors and with many festivals, with centuries old traditions like Hanami.
South Korea being at relatively close latitude (and I'm assuming climate) than a lot of Japan I'm wondering if the cherry has a similar significance in Korea as it does across the Sea of Japan, and if it's celebrated given the history between Japan and Korea.
Wikipedia has a rather short section on the topic, no mention of it on Wikivoyage, is this an important event on the Korean calendar ?
Best Answer
The significance is not very different, although the Japanese do tend to go utterly crazy for it. The Koreans appreciate the full beauty of it and place some romantic meaning in it, yes, while the Japanese tend to place cherry blossoms in souls-linkage-forever metaphysics level (higher than Koreans) but Koreans have their own festivals of Cherry Blossoms, and it is believed that if a couple walks down a road of cherry blossoms holding hands, they will grow old together in an everlasting relationship. So not really far away; just trimmed down to non-extreme level.
Do note this rule-of-thumb: if Japan makes a fuss about something, no one does it quite as high, loud or literally as creepy. Japan is the country of the extreme. :) Period.
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