Pink Muhly in Jeollanamdo

So

I've been searching for pink muhly in Jeollanamdo since 2017.

I'm happy to announce that we finally found a garden in Hampyeong (함평) with fields of

muhly for everyone to enjoy for free!

Hampyeong is notorious for its incredible gardens. With countless seasonal flower festivals, they even hold a butterfly festival each year, closer to the center of town.

Hampyeong is about 45 minutes to an hour from Gwangju.

Located on the West coast of Jeollanamdo, it's totally worth the short trek.

I actually used to know Hampyeong really well~

During my first year in Korea, I lived in Muan, a small town neighboring Hampyeong.

With so many farms, gardens, and mudflats, it would be difficult to deny that I miss eup-life.

While first reading about and searching for pink muhly,

I was only able to find patches in Incheon and Gyeongi Province.

We had to search through a number of Naver blogs in Korean to find a muhly garden in Jeolla Province. (Apparently Suncheon's International Garden has a small patch as well.)

Muhly itself is actually a fairly easy-to-grow species of grass.

Shiny and green on the bottom, with soft pink and lavender, feathery sprouts on top, the plant looks delicate and airy when grown in large patches.

Associated with fall, Mhuly blooms from late summer through autumn.

You can look for the grass in September through early November in Korea.

Please note: It's also important to take each location's relative seasonal temperature into account to find mhuly in full bloom, just as you might while looking for cherry blossoms.

We went to this garden in Jeollanam-do in mid-October, though you can also find fields of mhuly in Gyeongi-do and Gyeongsan-do around the same time.

We honestly had so much fun taking pictures, as you can tell~

Please keep the mhuly and future visitors in mind when taking pictures.

It was really heartbreaking to see entire patches destroyed by people who walked into the field to get an insta-worthy picture, or, those who even lay down on the grass, crushing portions of it in the process.

We got to the park around 6 o'clock, which was great because most visitors had left or were in the process of leaving, and we had most of the space to ourselves.

However, we were working against the clock as dusk approached us...

Which led us to a wonderful surprise that was the beach just minutes from the mhuly garden!

Do you like long walks on the beach? ㅋㅋ

Complete with a boardwalk, pier, and outlook, the location is perfect for date night or a photoshoot with friends.

You can even walk out on the mudflats when the tide recedes

and take a go at catching crab and octopus.

See the tiny building on the left side?

We thought it could be a cafe due to its unique structure.

Nope! It's a small but tall layout makes it the perfect outlook to see the entire coast.

Ji wore the perfect shirt to achieve peak pirate status.

Make sure to bring a jacket to stay warm~

The coast is super windy and chilly, especially at this time of year.

Seriously windy~

Go check out Hampyeong this fall for your own mhuly/mudflat

experience and again in spring during festival season.

You can take an express bus from Gwangju U-Square Terminal or any other

express bus terminal to Hampyeong.

Take the 500 bus to 석도 (sok-do) or 돌머리해변 (dol-mori-haebyeon).