March Maehwa ~ 3월 매화꽃

Gwangyang Maehwa Village ~ 광양 매화마을

1563-1, Seomjingangmaehwa-ro, Dahp-myeon, Gwangyang-shi, Jeollanam-do 57709

57709 전라남도 광양시 다압면 섬진강매화로 1563-1

http://maehwa.invil.org/

***I want to start this particular blog post with a disclaimer of sorts. My goal with sharing information about Gwangyang's Annual Maehwa Festival is so that you, whether you're reading from America or here in Korea, can observe some of the charm I found upon moving to Gwangyang.

Due to recent events regarding the COVID-19 or Coronavirus, it feels negligent to post and encourage readers to go to a public festival. I want to do my part to stress the importance of social distancing for the safety of everyone here in Korea.

~

Therefore, please know that we drove to this flower festival a few weekends ago, equipped with our masks and hand sanitizer. We practiced social distancing, as did many other festival-goers.

I want to stress that I would NOT recommend going to this festival if you plan to go at peak-times for crowds, if you are reliant on public transportation, and you don't plan to follow basic protocol to decrease the spread of viruses to others. The Korean government also asks all nonessential travel be postponed for the next 15 days and that we all try to stay put during this crucial time. ***

With that out of the way, my hope is that we all can visit and enjoy festivals fully, but only this all blows over

~

The river just east of the village is named SeomJinGang (섬진강) and is the clearest and cleanest river in all of Korea.

Our adventures started with a small picnic lunch. We bought our favs -- tuna kimbap and Taiwanese ham-cheese sandwiches -- just before driving out.

Nothing screams spring like a picnic, though it was a bit windy this weekend, and we had to make sure our garbage didn't fly off into the orchards.

One wonderful thing about living in Korea is that each city is known for some kind of food or flower - if you're lucky, both. So of course, during my first days in Gwangyang, I was often asked: “Do you know 매화 (mae-hwa)?” “Do you like 매실 (mae-shil)?”

I quickly learned that maehwa (매화꽃) are the delicate flowers found in abundance here in Gwangyang Korea.

Not to be confused with cherry blossoms, maehwa have stark white leaves. They are essentially plum blossoms or "Japanese Apricot Blossoms" when run through a Korean dictionary (which makes sense as Gwangyang is a southern port city very near Japan).

These buds collect on the low, crooked trees and look like fresh snow when viewed from a distance.

We also saw bright yellow acacia, what I think might be azaleas, and a few pale pink cherry blossoms (though it's still a bit early to find cherry blossoms in full bloom).

Couples and families made their way to the mountainside in early March to experience and take pictures in the maehwa orchards. I'd recommend going the first or second week of March for best viewing and to avoid big crowds.

Maeshil, on the other hand, are the small green plums that can be found in everything from tea and juice, to side dishes during bbq, to traditional Korean alcohol. My school always serves maeshil juice at least once a week at lunch and it is fabulous! Their taste is almost similar to a tarte apple and goes well with most things.

Maeshil are jarred and fermented during the year in glass containers and even big clay pots like these, getting more delicious and intoxicated by the day.

I work at a “travel school” on Fridays, a smaller school farther away from my main school’s location. I take a long bus ride to and from the small town called Dahp (다압), where this plum festival takes place, on the outskirts of Gwangyang.

All of the parents of my students at this school farm Maeshil in spring/summer months and "bam" (밤) in fall/winter. I've also, surprisingly, fallen in love with persimmons (감) and 홍시 as my students and coworkers are always bringing them into school to share!

You can get to Dahp's Maehwa orchards in a variety of ways: through Gwangwang or Suncheon if you live in the Southwest Jeollandamdo Province, or through the small town to the East of the SeomJin River, called Hadong. This would obviously be best for those coming from the Eastern province, Gyeongsanamdo.

Whichever route you choose, I would insist that you try to go by car. Make a friend or rent a car because taxis are few and far between, not to mention very pricey. Travel takes roughly an hour, and there are only three city buses each day that go from inner Gwangyang towards Dahp.

However, the route more than makes up for travel times. The narrow road takes you up into the mountains and is lined with the whimsical, warped trees you see pictured. Seeing the sun rise and set over the mountains never gets old and makes the commute to my travel school worth it every Friday.

Even if you don't want to expose yourself to the crowds, if you find yourself with some free time and a car, just driving the winding road through the plum trees is totally enchanting!

I’m sure others can vouch for me when I say that these flowers are the absolute pride and joy of the people of Gwangyang city. And why wouldn’t they be?

Cafe InMarch ~ 카페인마치

Jeollanam-do, Gwangyang-shi, Dahp-myeon, Wondong-gil 70-18

57709 전라남도 광양시 다압면

원동길 70-18

매일/everyday

10:30-22:00

061.772.8622

After lots of walking, we decided to take a rest at a local cafe, just minutes from the village. Emma recommended this particular cafe and it did not disappoint!

We pondered over the cafe's name and came to the conclusion that it must be named "In March" because people flock to the maehwa orchards in March.

The cafe is a bit industrial and very chic with gold accents all around the premise. Each piece of furniture was unique but still super comfy.

There is a patio out front and a balcony with extra seating. I always appreciate open layouts and large floor-to-ceiling windows that blur the outside and inside. The staff were very friendly and informed us that all orders would be placed in to-go cups for sanitation purposes due to coronavirus.

Due to quarantine, it had been a minute since we were able to enjoy a nice einspänner, so we opted for the cold brew einspänner. After ordering, we saw a few waffles at the counter that were made to fill the orders of other customers. It only took one look between Emma and I before we rushed back to the front counter and ordered a giant strawberry waffle for ourselves. Thank you again Emma for treating us~!

We were recommended the 생딸기 와플 or "fresh strawberry waffle" by the waitstaff, and wow, it did not disappoint! It's currently strawberry season in Korea and I seriously can't get enough. If you're in the area, I definitely recommend stopping by Cafe In March!