Seoul in spring promised me something I had never experienced before: a real change of seasons.
Growing up in the Philippines, I knew only sunny days, rain, and typhoons. Here, flowers bloom throughout the year, so spring and summer can feel almost identical.
Spring, however, has one unmistakable attraction for me: cherry blossoms.
I had admired them in photographs for years. They appeared across Japan, South Korea, and even parts of the United States, but rarely in my tropical corner of the world.
So, when we found cheap plane tickets to Seoul during spring, I jumped at the opportunity.
Finally, I could experience the season firsthand and discover what made it different from summer.
Seoul Gave Me a Chilly Welcome
The difference became obvious the moment we landed at Incheon. It was cold.
Not just pleasantly cool, but way too cold for my tropical-reared body. They said winter had already ended, yet Seoul still felt like winter to me.
I had layered my clothes, but the cold somehow slipped through them and settled into my bones. I still had another dream to fulfill someday: seeing snow. For this trip, however, I had one priority.
I didn’t want to leave Seoul without seeing cherry blossoms.
Imagine my excitement, then, when we arrived at Big Choi’s Guesthouse and spotted a small cherry tree. Its buds were beginning to emerge. I immediately asked Big Choi’s brother when it would bloom.
“Maybe next Monday or a week,” he told me. My face almost fell. We were going home on Monday.
A Rainy Start to Spring in Seoul
As if Seoul wanted to remind us that we were far from the tropics, it rained the following day. The drizzle made everything colder, so staying indoors seemed like the sensible choice. Still, we couldn’t let a little rain stop our Seoul adventure.
Eventually, we ventured out and discovered blooming trees around Gyeongbokgung Palace. It wasn’t the spectacular cherry blossom scene I had imagined. Nevertheless, those flowers felt like a small victory.
The following day brought sunshine, although the breeze remained stubbornly cold. More flowers had appeared, but many trees still looked bare, almost as though winter hadn’t received the memo.
I began wondering whether I had arrived in Seoul at precisely the wrong week.
Seoul’s Elusive Cherry Blossoms
We saved Monday for what seemed like our best chance. Yeouido was famous for its spring display, with roughly 1,400 to 1,600 cherry trees lining the area. The neighborhood also sits near major television networks, including MBC and KBS.
Surely, this was where I would finally get my cherry blossom moment. We walked along the curved avenue behind the National Assembly, eagerly looking around.
Instead of clouds of pink and white flowers, we found branches. Lots of branches. The birds seemed to be the only ones celebrating spring.
Still, the walk gave us an unexpected adventure.
An Unexpected Seoul Adventure
While waiting at a traffic light, an elderly Korean woman approached us. She spoke rapidly in Korean and appeared to be asking for directions. Unfortunately, we couldn’t understand a word.
We wanted to help, though, so we approached an elderly man wearing a suit and an emblem pin. He spoke with the woman and appeared to understand exactly what she needed. Then we asked him for directions, too. Instead of simply pointing, he motioned for us to follow him.
So, naturally, we followed. He entered the National Assembly compound, passed the security guard who saluted him, and waved his hand at us. It was an unmistakable invitation.
We continued following him. Soon, we found ourselves wandering through the grounds of the National Assembly.
Our accidental guide eventually led us to the information center, where we learned that the entire area was part of what we had been searching for. There was just one problem. The cherry trees weren’t blooming.
Two Cherry Trees Saved Our Seoul Spring
By then, I had accepted that I might leave Seoul without seeing the famous blossoms. Then, near the exit of Yeouinaru Station, something caught my eye. Two cherry trees stood there in full bloom.
After all the searching, walking, waiting, and wondering, there they were. They weren’t thousands of trees stretching along a spectacular avenue. They weren’t the postcard-perfect scene I had imagined.
But they were enough.
Those two blooming trees transformed our almost-frustrating search into a memorable spring experience. And perhaps that’s what made Seoul in spring so special for me.
I arrived expecting a grand spectacle, but Seoul gave me something more personal: a chilly welcome, unexpected discoveries, an accidental adventure, and two beautiful trees at exactly the right moment.
We went home to Manila cheerful, carrying memories of spring with us. Sometimes, you don’t need thousands of blossoms to make a trip unforgettable. Sometimes, two cherry trees are enough.
Check out my other Seoul-related posts at First-time in Seoul.
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