Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival

This year from April 13th to April 17th was the annual Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival in Seoul. During this time of year there are several cherry blossom festivals held across Korea, the most famous one being the Jinhae festival located in the south, near Busan. However, being the busy person that I am, I couldn’t, wouldn’t, make the time to take the hours long train ride down to Jinhae.

However, Seoul has it’s own cherry blossom festival held on Yeouido island—home of the National Assembly, Hangang Park, an the 63 Building. There is a main road that snakes behind the National Assembly Building and follows the curve of the Han River, and is blocked off so no vehicles are allowed to pass. Only pedestrians.

If taking the subway, you can get off at either the Yeouido Sation or Yeouinaru sation.
I went with my co-teachers, one of whom lives on Yeouido, and she suggested the Yeouinaru station.

Be warned, the subways will be incredibly packed.

Also, the streets will be incredibly packed.

From Yeoinaru, walk west along the river and you’ll be in the heart of Hangang Park. There are bike rentals here with bike paths, and what I’ve been told is the “”Piano Stream”—named so because at the bottom of the shallow, man made stream, are little bars that resemble the black keys of a piano.

At Hangang Park.

We walked along the river path instead of the sidewalk as it was less crowded. However, if you are hungry for some street food—ohdang, ddukbokki, hotdongs, silkworms, meat skewers, squid, thos sugar cookie things—take the sidewalk. A second attraction is that cherry blossom trees line the sidewalk, and who doesn’t want to walk under a canopy of almost snowflake life flowers?

Once you get to the main road of the festival, the street vendors cease and you are plunged, head first, into a sea of people—each equipped with their own DSLR cameras taking pictures with just about every and anything. There are cherry blossom trees lining one side of the street, and on the opposite side is either some performance act—there were stages set up periodically along the road, or a walking art exhibition centerd around, you guessed it, flowers.

Along the sidewalks on the main road there are art exhibitions on display.

But basically everyone wants to take about a million pictures of themselves with the cherry blossom trees.

And for good reason too. They are simply gorgeous.



If you stay around long enough, or want to see the trees in a new light, come to the festival after sunset. At night, the trees are lit with different coloured LED lights—orange, green, blue, purple—and they just make the pretty, prettier.


It can be a little tough, dealing with the crowds, and on the legs too, because you’ll be walking. Its roughly a 15 minute walk from the subway station to the main road, and the main road stretches on for awhile.

But if you can deal with the crowds, it and don’t mind the walk, you can take a blanket with you and sit at the Hangang Park. Also, if you want to see the cherry blossoms but don't mind the crowds, go a week before or a week after the festival, the flowers will still be there :)