This is a Korean Bucket List post. Check out the rest of my list here.
A word to the wise: if you are a Type-A person intent on finishing everything on a fixed Bucket List, and have travel plans to a neighbouring city for a cherry blossom festival at the break of dawn, do not dance until 3:30AM at a club called Ghetto to “Drunk in Love”. Call it a night at 11AM after a single drink at the local watering hole, and get a good night’s sleep. Otherwise, you are going to hate your entire life. This personal anecdote brought to you by the Bad Decisions Council of Busan.
The Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, otherwise known as the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival, is one of South Korea’s largest, held in unison with the commemoration of famed admiral Yi Sun Shin. The festival took place this year from April 1st to 10th, when the cherry blossoms are looking the most beautiful of all (I apologize, but all Mulan references are justified).
Steph, Mary, and I woke up at an obscene hour to catch the bus to Jinhae to witness the spectacle. Given that the three of us slept in my twin bed for a grand total of three hours, we were in a bad place. Steph, ever the responsible one, ushered us out of bed to brush our teeth. I was so tired in fact, that after I got the toothpaste on my brush, I returned to my bed to brush them there. Soon, we were on the metro to Sasang, at the bus terminal to buy a ticket, and on the road to Jinhae.
I wish I could tell you that the rolling countryside en route to Jinhae was a dazzling grassland with sweeping mountains as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately, I was busy catching flies, mouth wide open and reclined backwards in my chair.
Once we arrived at the festival, we immediately began to look for the Yaejwacheon Romance Bridge, as advertised in all of the South Korean travel blogs as the “must see place in Jinhae”. Eventually, after following swarms of tourists from the train tracks onwards, we reached Jinhae’s cherry blossom mecca.
The stream really was the perfect spot. Lined with cherry blossom tree after cherry blossom tree, petals lightly rained down upon us as we ventured further along. We stopped for our requisite yoga photos (catch my crow below), and mostly gazed dumbfounded, partially from exhaustion, partially at the beauty of Korean nature. I like to think given my inarticulateness, my face seemed to say, “damn, nature – you pretty!”
Some of the festival’s other main attractions apart from the Yaejwacheon Romance Bridge included the Jinhae Inland Water Eco Park, the famed Gyeonghwa Train Station, the Mt. Jehwang Park Monorail, and Anmin Hill. According to the festival brochure, all of these places offered “beautiful views of the spring cherry blossoms” and were “sure to wow visitors”. We did end up passing the train station and the monorail, both of which I would have marvelled more at had I enjoyed an eight hour sleep. Alas, the appreciation was still there.
Apparently, there was also a military band parade and a multimedia fireworks show during the festival. I feel like, even if I had been in the general vicinity of these things, I wouldn’t have even noticed them happening because I was so fatigued.
The girls and I ended our time at the Jungwon Rotary, which acted as the festival’s main venue, replete with stages, markets, and booths. This was not before a pair of eldery ajummas ran up to Mary and literally gave her a smack bottom. I guess they enjoyed her Teeki leggings? We half-watched (what I’m assuming was) a memorial for the late Admiral, and half-rested our eyes as the sun beat down upon us.
In the aftermath of the festival, I felt a little guilty for not enjoying it more in the moment due to lack of sleep. That said, I was coherent enough to know what a beautiful place I was in, and I’m sure you would too, should you visit Jinhae. Just… get some sleep before, I guess.
Directions
To get to Jinhae, take the Green Line on the Busan Subway (Line 2) to Sasang Station (stop 227). Go out exit 3, turn left, and walk straight towards the Seoubu Bus Station. Buy a ticket to Jinhae for ₩4,500. The bus takes about 50 minutes (I think, I was asleep/incapacitated for the majority of it). From the Jinhae Bus Station walk straight for about 15 minutes to reach the festival grounds. Entrance to the festival is free.
Millennial Abroad 