CHANGWON - South Korea’s flower festivals in 2024 have so far fallen short of expectations as cherry trees did not reach their blossom peak in time.

The Jinhae Gunhangje cherry blossom festival day tour in Changwon, South Gyeongsang province, saw a drop of about 1.2 million visitors in 2024, a Changwon official told South Korean media.

While 4.2 million people visited the most well-known cherry blossom festival in South Korea in 2023, the city tallied the number of visitors at three million during the 10 days of the 2024 festival, which ended on April 1.

The flowers were expected on 360,000 trees planted in the area’s parks and naval bases, but the blooming rate remained at only 15 per cent on March 23, the first day of the festival.

Other famous cherry blossom festivals, including those in Yeouido and Jamsil in Seoul, also ended with many of the flowers still in the bud stage. The number of visitors to the Yeouido festival was less than half of 2023’s figure, according to media reports.

The festivals’ dates had been brought forward compared with previous years’ as the date when the flowers bloom has gradually become earlier. For 2024, it was forecast to be even earlier.

Festivals in Changwon and Seoul were brought forward by a week from 2023.

But this March saw colder temperatures and less sunshine than average, which experts say resulted in inaccurate earlier forecasts on bloom peaks.

The inaccurate predictions were embarrassing for the authorities, as the spring festivals have been an important opportunity for local businesses to promote their products.

Some cities decided to postpone their spring festivals, or even hold another festival.

Sokcho city in Gangwon province launched a second cherry blossom festival on April 6, a week after its first festival ended. A post uploaded on the city’s social media account reads: “We deserve to die for our mistake, but we could not control the season.” The city explained it had to hold the festival twice because of the lack of blossoms.

Gangneung city in Gangwon province also opened its Gyeongpo cherry blossom festival on April 6, after delaying it by a week from March 29. THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK