Changwon – The City of Cherry Blossoms

About one hour west of Busan lies the city of Changwon. This city is perhaps most famous for hosting the annual cherry blossom festival, known as the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival. The festival is usually held between the end of March and the beginning of April, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. The festival is located in the Jinhae district, where there are various spots to visit for great photos of the blossoms, as well as numerous food stalls, live performances, and parades. The official website (https://www.jgfestival.or.kr/eng/) can provide dates for the festival each year, as well as a useful map and program of events.

While the cherry blossom festival is the main reason people visit Changwon, it also means the city is very crowded during this time. There isn’t a huge draw to visit the city outside of the festival period, though there are a few other sites in the city worth seeing. They may provide an escape from the crowds during the festival, and the areas with blossoms will still be beautiful outside of the cherry blossom season, meaning you can visit year round.

Yeojwacheon Stream

The busiest area during the cherry blossom festival is Yeojwacheon Stream. Both sides of this stream are lined with cherry blossoms, hanging over the gently flowing water below. This is where everyone goes to get the photos of the blossoms, so expect it to be very crowded.

Beside the stream there are also lots of stalls selling chicken skewers, fried chicken, ice cream, tteokbokki, jeon, and other Korean food and drinks.

Gyeonghwa Station

Gyeonghwa Station is another spot to visit during the cherry blossom festival. This station, now abandoned, has cherry blossom trees hanging over the old train tracks. You can walk along the tracks and see a train that used to stop at this station.

You might also catch a live performance on the tracks!

Festival Stalls

This one is obviously only present during the cherry blossom festival, and is hard to give a precise location for as stalls can be found throughout much of Jinhae district. From Yeojwacheon Stream in the north to Jinhae Bus Terminal in the south, you will find streets filled with stalls selling food and drinks.

There are also stages and tents set up where you can watch live performances.

Jinhae Tower

For a view of Changwon (and maybe some cherry blossoms from above) head to Jinhae Tower. You can take the stairs or there is a monorail to take you up the hill.

Inside the tower at the top, which is designed to symbolise a Korean naval warship, you’ll find the Jinhae City Museum. Everything is in Korean, but if you can understand the language you’ll be able to learn about the history of the city.

You can also see the model of Jinhae district.

At the top of the tower you’ll get a view over Changwon and the coastline. Looking west you can spot the navy port.

Yi Sun-Sin Statue

Although not as big as the statue at Yi Sun-Sin Square in Yeosu, the statue in Changwon is still worth visiting while in Jinhae district. Admiral Yi Sun-Sin lead the Korean naval forces against the Japanese during the Imjin War of the late 1500s. Information around the statue (again, only in Korean) shows the details of some of the Admiral’s battles against the Japanese.