Cherry blossom bloomings mark the beginning of springtime festivities in Seoul. I've mentioned these flowers in my previous posts, but now I'm going to tell you even more about their impact on the environment and society as a whole. As you can tell by now, these flowers are very important here! Cherry blossom trees are often associated with Japanese culture because of their appearance in Japanese art and popular culture. With the Japanese diaspora (meaning the dispersion of people from their homeland) and Japanese occupations during World War II, the cherry blossom trees spread all around the globe to countries where they do not naturally grow, such as Brazil and the Netherlands. In fact, the Japanese government donated Japanese cherry blossom seeds and treelings to different cities and countries around the world as a gift of friendship. Korea's cherry blossoms are a mixture of indigenous and Japanese-introduced species. No matter the species, cherry blossom flowers stand out because of their distinctive white and pink flowers.
