Soon, though, my amazement was replaced with a complex mix of awe, appreciation and sadness. On the one hand, the trees are certainly beautiful, and they made me appreciate the changing of the seasons in a way I never had. On the other hand, though, they also provide a reminder of Japan’s colonial legacy in Korea. From 1910-1945, Japan occupied Korea, brutally stifling Korean language, culture and customs. One part of that process was the planting of cherry blossom trees— which are a symbol of Japan— throughout the country. As I admire the trees’ beauty today, I cannot help but think about this history, too.
Cherry blossom trees grow throughout East Asia, but they are most famous in Japan and South Korea. There are over 300 different varieties of these ornamental trees! Here, the most common type of cherry blossom tree is the Yoshino, which has light pink and white blossoms and is native to Japan. In some places, you can also find 왕벚 나무 (wang-beot na-mu), or Korean king cherry blossoms. These plants are native to 저주도 (Jeju-do), an island off the coast of South Korea, and have much larger and pinker blossoms than their Japanese counterparts.
Do you know why flowers exist? In a nutshell, plants produce flowers to aid in reproduction, or the creation of new plants. Flowers attract insects and animals, which then spread the pollen of one plant to another. This process results in seeds, fruit – as in the case of cherry blossom trees – and new plants. Indeed, cherry blossoms don’t exist for their beauty alone. They serve a biological purpose!
