Cherry Blossom Festival, South Korea

Flowering cherry trees were brought to South Korea from Japan and since then they have become the nation’s favourite trees. When they flower, thousands of people from the countryside join the stream of tourists flooding into parks and squares to admire the cherry blossom, known as sakura. The cherry blossoms earliest in the very southern part of the Seogwipo region on Jeju island and is followed by Busan; in Seoul, the cherry starts to blossom by 9 April. An event that is particularly associated with this season is the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival, held in Jinhae, not far from Seoul.