By Bernard Rowan
I've never had the good fortune to be in Korea for spring. I'll have to fix that someday! But I know the cherry blossoms will soon make their annual appearance. Signaling spring and taking our memories away from winter's cold and COVID's dark embrace, the cherry blossoms remind us of life and love.
Littleholidays.net has a wonderful article on spring in South Korea. It lists some of the places in South Korea to enjoy the cherry blossoms in spring, usually beginning soon until mid-April. Jeju, Busan, and Seoul receive special mention, but there doubtless are others.
I imagine my friends past and present walking the beautiful tree-lined streets near beautiful places in Korea, holding hands with their loves and bringing the cherry blossoms to life. Too much news today concerns death and the opposite of living. The cherry blossoms remind us how love and life conquer all in the end, always.
The accent of the flowers on a mixture of white and red, their alluring shade of pink, makes one think of youth. Pink as a pastel color adorns young women, but men can wear it well! Pink is a gentle color. It represents vibrance, warmth, and calm. There's plenty of time for the hot fires of summer, and for the hues of red, yellow, and orange moving to fall. I'm glad to have grown up in a climate that values pastel colors for men too.
Travel-stained.com and ivisit.korea list some of this year's festivals in Korea. Jinhae, Yeouido, Seokchon Lake, Gyeongju, Jeju, Hwagae, Gyeongpo, Cheongpung Lake are just a taste of the festivals to enjoy during this time.
My dream is one day to plant a grove of cherry trees for my children and grandchildren-to-be, and to tell them of the cherry blossom's meaning and power. They can take splices of the trees and cultivate them elsewhere if they're of the same mind.
Of course, cherry blossoms are never with us for long. A blossom's life and presence are like that of anything else. They continue the life cycle of the plant and carry on in that way. How does one mirror the cherry blossom? The cherry blossom reminds us that life shouldn't remain just a matter of "blush." Life is not just about a beauty that appears only to disappear ― a mere visual pleasure. How does humanity best take to heart the beauty of the cherry blossom and bring it to fuller life?
Wikipedia notes the wood of the cherry tree makes for wonderful products. Some Koreans understandably share ambivalence about the introduction of the Yoshino cherry tree to Korea. Japan's monstrous colonial misadventure is the opposite of the cherry blossom. Nonetheless, Koreans have adapted and adopted these cherry blossoms. One also can read about Korea's scientific work on the King and Yoshino cherry species.
The Wikipedia article says, "In Korea, cherry blossoms have the meaning of purity and beauty." The last year has seen so much arguably that's impure and ugly. We humans create much of this with arrogance from wars, antidemocratic farces, and the COVID virus itself.
The cherry blossom reminds us that life doesn't occur on man's and woman's terms, nor on humanity's terms as a whole. Arrogance and pride subjugate the beautiful. It's not science and politics that create problems intrinsically. Their abuses do so in leaving reason out of passion, opinion, and interest.
Yet, cherry blossoms remind us all that life continues, nature continues, and its timeless values and meaning remain for those who wish to find them. Respecting the relationship of humans to nature within the universe is the critical task.
Many nations in the Northern Hemisphere have cherry blossoms, cherry trees, and cherries themselves. This wonderful tree, not uniquely, but abidingly, stands as a symbol of life itself each spring. Enjoy the cherry blossoms, imitate them, and follow the call they represent!
Gentle flowers of the spring
Come!
Emerging to chase away winter and strife,
See the cherry blossoms come to life.
Precious cherry blossoms
Your fragrance so divine.
Your hues of white and pink draw up the time
That calls us to love.
Herald again the coming of Spring.
Never let us fail to bring
The cherry blossom to our hearts,
And from there to our lives
Now, always, and forever more!
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is an associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and a former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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Littleholidays.net has a wonderful article on spring in South Korea. It lists some of the places in South Korea to enjoy the cherry blossoms in spring, usually beginning soon until mid-April. Jeju, Busan, and Seoul receive special mention, but there doubtless are others.
I imagine my friends past and present walking the beautiful tree-lined streets near beautiful places in Korea, holding hands with their loves and bringing the cherry blossoms to life. Too much news today concerns death and the opposite of living. The cherry blossoms remind us how love and life conquer all in the end, always.
The accent of the flowers on a mixture of white and red, their alluring shade of pink, makes one think of youth. Pink as a pastel color adorns young women, but men can wear it well! Pink is a gentle color. It represents vibrance, warmth, and calm. There's plenty of time for the hot fires of summer, and for the hues of red, yellow, and orange moving to fall. I'm glad to have grown up in a climate that values pastel colors for men too.
Travel-stained.com and ivisit.korea list some of this year's festivals in Korea. Jinhae, Yeouido, Seokchon Lake, Gyeongju, Jeju, Hwagae, Gyeongpo, Cheongpung Lake are just a taste of the festivals to enjoy during this time.
My dream is one day to plant a grove of cherry trees for my children and grandchildren-to-be, and to tell them of the cherry blossom's meaning and power. They can take splices of the trees and cultivate them elsewhere if they're of the same mind.
Of course, cherry blossoms are never with us for long. A blossom's life and presence are like that of anything else. They continue the life cycle of the plant and carry on in that way. How does one mirror the cherry blossom? The cherry blossom reminds us that life shouldn't remain just a matter of "blush." Life is not just about a beauty that appears only to disappear ― a mere visual pleasure. How does humanity best take to heart the beauty of the cherry blossom and bring it to fuller life?
Wikipedia notes the wood of the cherry tree makes for wonderful products. Some Koreans understandably share ambivalence about the introduction of the Yoshino cherry tree to Korea. Japan's monstrous colonial misadventure is the opposite of the cherry blossom. Nonetheless, Koreans have adapted and adopted these cherry blossoms. One also can read about Korea's scientific work on the King and Yoshino cherry species.
The Wikipedia article says, "In Korea, cherry blossoms have the meaning of purity and beauty." The last year has seen so much arguably that's impure and ugly. We humans create much of this with arrogance from wars, antidemocratic farces, and the COVID virus itself.
The cherry blossom reminds us that life doesn't occur on man's and woman's terms, nor on humanity's terms as a whole. Arrogance and pride subjugate the beautiful. It's not science and politics that create problems intrinsically. Their abuses do so in leaving reason out of passion, opinion, and interest.
Yet, cherry blossoms remind us all that life continues, nature continues, and its timeless values and meaning remain for those who wish to find them. Respecting the relationship of humans to nature within the universe is the critical task.
Many nations in the Northern Hemisphere have cherry blossoms, cherry trees, and cherries themselves. This wonderful tree, not uniquely, but abidingly, stands as a symbol of life itself each spring. Enjoy the cherry blossoms, imitate them, and follow the call they represent!
Gentle flowers of the spring
Come!
Emerging to chase away winter and strife,
See the cherry blossoms come to life.
Precious cherry blossoms
Your fragrance so divine.
Your hues of white and pink draw up the time
That calls us to love.
Herald again the coming of Spring.
Never let us fail to bring
The cherry blossom to our hearts,
And from there to our lives
Now, always, and forever more!
Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is an associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and a former visiting professor at Hanyang University.
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