[Community Discovery] Songpa-gu sets stage for cherry blossoms

As the season of cherry blossoms approaches in Seoul, the Songpa-gu district office is gearing up to host its annual cherry blossom festival at Seokchon Lake Park from Wednesday to Sunday.

The park, which spans 2.6 kilometers, is filled with almost 1,100 cherry blossom trees. According to the district office of Songpa-gu, the lake has been around for 50 years, with cherry trees donated by Lotte -- which operates establishments in the district including a theme park on an island in the lake -- and by citizens of Songpa-gu.

“There is quite a large number of visitors every year when cherry blossoms are in full bloom around Seokchon Lake Park,” said Songpa-gu head Seo Kang-seok during a press conference Monday. Songpa-gu Office said that last year, around 2.33 million people visited the park, including many from abroad and outside of Seoul.

According to KT BigSight, a big data platform run by Korea’s telecommunications giant KT Corp., Songpa-gu’s cherry blossom festival attracted the highest number of visitors among other such festivals in the capital city, with around 569,000 visitors. The “Yeouido Spring Flower Festival,” another popular flower festival in Yeongdeungpo-gu, western Seoul, saw around 441,000 visitors.

Seo noted that the district office anticipates more than 2.5 million visitors this year, with a new feature installed at the park to make viewing cherry blossom trees more enjoyable, even at night.

“The highlight of this year’s cherry blossom festival is its night views,” said Seo. The district office installed 500 LED projection lights, making it easier to view the cherry blossoms after sundown.

“Projection lights were also installed in time for the festival last year, but were lower down, making it difficult to see the cherry blossoms at night,” mentioned Seo. “This year, the district office made sure to install the lights above visitors' eye level to make viewing the cherry blossoms easier on the eyes at night.”

This year's cherry blossom festival will also feature diverse musical performances that “can be enjoyed by all ages,” including performances by singer Soyou, a former member of the girl group Sistar, and K-pop girl group H1-KEY. Other performers include the choir group Harmonize, the jazz band Up That Brown and acapella singers Exit.

A selection of programs will also be available, such as caricature drawing, face painting and making cherry blossom candles. The festival will also include flea markets, where visitors can buy craft products and accessories.

The district head said that the safety of festivalgoers is the district office’s “utmost priority,” adding that it spent 23 percent of its 300-million-won ($223,000) budget on safety management. More than 200 safety workers will be stationed around Seokchon Lake Park during the festival.

Songpa-gu Office also installed alert systems on the park's surveillance cameras that will "trigger an alarm when the distance between visitors is less than 1.5 meters.” Though safety management personnel will not be stationed around the park once the festival ends, a Songpa-gu Office official told The Korea Herald that the surveillance cameras will help with crowd control, as software connected to such surveillance cameras will transmit data to related authorities upon detecting overcrowding.

While Songpa-gu Office is the only festival in Seoul that showcases the cherry blossoms with cityscape views and a lake, the cherry blossoms are forecast to bloom from Apr. 3, a week after the festival ends. Initially, the district office moved the start of the festival date a week earlier than last year’s festival, as cherry blossoms bloomed earlier than usual last year.

“Cherry blossoms around Seokchon Lake Park are beginning to show signs of blooming with the weather getting increasingly warmer,” said Seo. Even when the festival ends, Seo added that the Songpa-gu Office will permit more busking performances to take place while the flowers are in bloom.

The district office installed an observation deck above Jamsil Lake Bridge “that provides a view of (the park's) surrounding landscape.”

“The bridge used aluminum and high load-bearing tempered glass to ensure its safety and that its aesthetics fit with its surroundings,” said a Songpa-gu official.

Visitors who wish to enjoy Seokchon Lake Park’s cherry blossoms from a higher vantage point can go up Lotte World Tower, a 123-story skyscraper located within 10 minutes walking distance from the park, for an additional fee of 50,000 won.

This article is the third installment in a series of feature stories and interviews that delve deeper into the hidden stories of Seoul's 25 districts. -- Ed.