Gwangyang Maehwa Village (광양 매화마을)

#mytravelhacks #localguides As I mentioned in my post yesterday, there are two early spring festivals I would suggest to get you in the spring spirit before the cherry trees blossom. This festival, the Gwangyang Maehwa Festival, will be held from March 8th to 17th. Many people will combine this festival with the Gurye Sunsuyu Festival happening up the road at the same time. The first sign of spring in Korea is maehwa blossoms. Maehwa translates as plum blossoms or apricot blossoms. Indeed, it is related to plum and apricots, but it is a unique species (prunus mume) that is a closer relative to apricots. Some common names in English include Chinese plum, Japanese plum, and Japanese apricot. In Korea, maehwa is grown for maesil, the fruit of the maehwa tree. Maesil tea is common as well as some other drinks and as a flavoring.