Cherry Blossom Tunnel, Gyeongju 2012

It seems the long awaited blooming of the cherry blossoms (벚꽃) is starting to reach its peak.  Of course, this means next weekend Gyeongju and Bomun Resort will be flooded with tourists, so I’d suggest staying off the roads around here, if at all possible.  However, one stretch of road worth braving the traffic jams for is the lane leading up to General Kim Yu-shin’s tomb.    I’ve heard locals refer to this road as the “cherry blossom tunnel,” for reasons that I hope are obvious.  Thankfully a few years back the city managed to widen this road, which takes pressure off the traffic and leaves a lot more room for a street vendors and strolling tourists. (It was kind of hard to enjoy the cherry blossoms while worrying about losing a limb to passing cars at the same time.)  I had some spare time between classes this afternoon and decided to check out the scene before it got too crazy with the weekend tourists.  Of course, I had my new Nikon DSLR along to play with, so here are some of the better photos I shot.  The weather was perfect, but for the wind, and there were still enough folks around to give the place quite a festive atmosphere.  The cross-dressing, trote-singing clown from Incheon helped to spice up the atmosphere a bit too (pictures not included.)  Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the photos and if you’re looking for suggestions on other places around town to frolic amongst the cherry flowers, I’ve posted tips previously both here and here.

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