A wave of light pink cherry blossoms covers downtown Jinhae

As the Jinhae Gunhang Festival, Korea's representative spring flower festival, opened its grand finale in the Jinhae area of Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, spring visitors have been flocking to the festival since the early morning of the 28th, the first weekend of the festival.

After the cherry blossoms officially bloomed near Yeojwacheon on the 24th, the entire Jinhae area was colored in light pink. Tourist buses lined up in the area around Yeojwacheon and Gyeonghwa Station, which are considered famous places for cherry blossoms, and were crowded with families and couples trying to make memories with the cherry blossoms in the background.

This year’s festival has a very different atmosphere from last year. In 2024, most programs were canceled and carried out calmly in the aftermath of the large-scale forest fire in the Yeongnam region, but this year, various events are operating normally, starting with the official opening ceremony on the afternoon of the 27th.

Military base opens, tourists enjoy the romance of cherry blossoms

One of the special charms of the Jinhae Gunhang Festival is that military bases that are normally off-limits are opened. From this day, the Navy Academy, Naval Port Pier 11, and Jinhae Base Command were opened and tourists flocked to enjoy the romantic cherry blossoms.

Cherry blossoms are blooming well thanks to the recent mild weather with the highest daytime temperature remaining around 20 degrees. Currently, you can enjoy abundant cherry blossoms wherever you go in Jinhae, and Changwon City is predicting that the cherry blossoms will be in full bloom as early as this weekend.

Colorful festival programs and transportation measures

Various performances were also prepared during the festival. On the afternoon of the 28th, the Jinhae Military Music Center Festival Marching Performance will be held twice at Jinhae Public Stadium at 3pm and 7pm, and the National Patriotic Parade will be held at Bukwon Rotary at 1:30pm. A fringe performance will be held at Poonglim Park in Cheongan-dong, Ungdong 2-dong, starting at 2 p.m.

As the crowds gather, the streets of major festival venues, including Yeojwa-ro, have been congested since early morning. In preparation for this, Changwon City deployed a large number of public officials, police, firefighters, and volunteers, and prepared a total of 5,950 temporary parking spaces for public institutions and military bases. During weekends, free shuttle buses run every 5 to 10 minutes.

3.5 million visitors expected, 300,000 more than last year

With the spring weather in full swing and the cherry blossoms blooming just in time for the festival, this year's Jinhae Gunhang Festival is expected to attract around 3.5 million visitors, about 300,000 more than last year (3.2 million).

An official from Changwon City said, "The weather is good, so we expect the cherry blossoms to be in full bloom today and tomorrow. This weekend is expected to be the peak, and we will do our best to ensure that citizens can enjoy the festival with peace of mind until the end of the festival."