Cherry blossoms this year start blooming 5-7 days earlier than average

The private weather forecast service K-weather on March 17 said cherry blossoms this year will bloom five to seven days earlier than the average from 1991 to 2020, with Jeju Island to see them blooming from March 16.

Busan is expected to see them bloom from March 20 and peak on March 27, while those in Seoul are forecast to bloom from April 2 and peak on April 9.

Cherry blossoms usually peak about a week after they start blooming. Thus the best time to view them in Jeju is March 23, the southern area from March 27 to April 3 and the central region from April 5-12.

Forsythias and azaleas, two other flowers that represent spring, will also bloom three to five days earlier than average.

Both were expected to start blooming from March 10-11 in Jeju and in Seoul from March 24.

According to the Korea National Park Service, sansuyu (yellow cornelian cherry flowers) and ginger plants started blooming on Jirisan Mountain in Gyeongsangnam-do Province early this month and at national parks from mid-March. Also from mid-March, the flowers hepatica, Byeonsan winter aconite and violet began blooming at such parks in Gangwon-do Province including those featuring the mountains Seorak, Odae and Taebaek.