Headed to South Korea during cherry blossom season and looking for info on the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival?! Keep on reading, I’m sharing everything you need to know and then some!
Imagine delicate pink petals fluttering in the breeze. Strolling along Yeojwacheon Stream with cherry blossom ice cream in hand. Pink and white blossoms stretching as far as the eye can see at Gyeonghwa Station. Taking in that sweet, sweet aroma of the romantic cherry blossom trees. You’ll find all this at the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival; it really is the best place in Korea to see cherry blossoms!
For a few days every spring, Jinhae turns into a pink paradise. It’s a huge bucket list check for those of us semi-obsessed with cherry blossoms (like myself!), and nearly every street, park, and public space in Jinhae is adorned with blossoms.
Cherry blossom season in Korea is a dream (and kinda feels like you’re living in your own K-Pop fantasy world!).
When everyone flocked to Japan this spring to see cherry blossoms (I swear, all I saw on IG was Tokyo and Kyoto posts), we decided to head to Korea instead. And wow did we get lucky – we ended up being in Korea for peak cherry blossom season (while the blooms were delayed a few weeks in Japan due to a colder-than-average spring over there, totally ruining so many people’s Japan plans).
I’ve always been obsessed with flowers (just ask my husband, haha). So when we decided to spend a week in Korea and realized we’d be there for cherry blossom season, it wasn’t even a question – we’d be spending a day at the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival!
I mean, Jinhae’s home to over 350,000 Yoshino cherry trees (did you read that right? – 350 THOUSAND). It’d be a crime to be oh so close and not make the short trek over!
To be quite honest, I had never heard of the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival before booking my flights to Korea. We weren’t even sure if we should allocate a full day of our South Korea itinerary to the festival as our visit was pretty short — only a week!
With mixed reviews on the festival (some stating the crowds really lessened the experience, that the food stalls were overpriced, and there’s enough cherry blossoms in the city), was it necessary? I REALLY wanted to see what the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival was all about, so we went!
And after attending the festival myself, I can confidently say I’m thrilled we visited! Sure, there’s plenty of cherry blossom trees in both Seoul and Busan (we got lucky and were there for peak bloom in both cities), but there’s honestly nothing like standing amongst thousands and thousands of soft petals, watching them slowly fall to the ground.
2024 Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival Dates: March 23nd – April 1st
Important Info about the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival
What is the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival?
First of all, what is the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival anyways?! It’s exactly as it sounds – an entire 10-day cherry blossom festival dedicated to the delicate (and super gorgeous) blooms! It’s a famous annual event held late March to early April in Jinhae (South Korea), and one of the largest cherry blossom festivals in the world (sure beats the one we have in San Francisco, haha).
Trust me, there’s a reason it sees millions of visitors each year.
Besides the main event (being all the cherry blossoms of course), there’s also military parades, cultural activities and performances, cute food stalls (cherry blossom ice cream anyone?!), and sometimes even fireworks!
Why is Jinhae so famous for cherry blossoms?
Glad you asked – a bunch of reasons actually!
For starters, the insane number of cherry trees of course! Jinhae is blessed with over 350,000 cherry trees, making it one of the most densely populated cherry blossom areas in not only South Korea, but the world! And all these cherry trees are surely loved by many, haha. The climate over here is super conducive to cherry blossoms, with mild spring temps and enough rain for the trees to bloom.
There’s also a great deal of historical significance celebrating cherry blossoms in Jinhae, dating back decades. The area was originally planted with cherry trees to honor Admiral Yi Sun-sin, a naval hero who played a crucial role in Korean history. Over time, these trees have matured and grown into the expansive and beautiful blossom displays we’re lucky to see today.
And lastly – sheer accessibility and city infrastructure. Since Jinhae’s well-connected by public transit (and not terribly far from Busan, South Korea’s second largest city), it’s pretty easy for tourists to visit. If it’s difficult to get to, no one’s gonna go (well, not as many people, haha). Plus, Jinhae has a decent tourism infrastructure, making it able to handle the overwhelming influx of visitors during the festival.
Predicting Cherry Blossoms in Jinhae
Hate to break it to ya, but cherry blossoms are just about the most fickle plant on the planet, haha. While we can certainly *predict* when they’ll bloom (typically reaching peak bloom in early April), exact dates change from year to year. Which is why it’s SO hard to plan a successful trip for the cherry blossoms alone.
Come a few days too early, and all you’ll see are flower buds or super small cherry blossoms. Come too late, and they’ll all be gone!
Once they do bloom, “full/peak bloom” stage only lasts for about a week! And this can all be cut short after heavy rains and/or wind! Entirely up to Mother Nature! Told ya – super fickle and unpredictable. But that’s what makes it all that much more special when you do catch peak bloom. 🙂
Thankfully, there’s a few ways to predict dates (although never certain). Climate and weather conditions are the biggest factors, including temperature, sunlight, and rainfall. Warmer temperatures accelerate the blooming process, while colder temperatures delay it.
So, if there’s a colder-than-normal spring, the cherry blossoms will bloom later than average. Meteorological experts analyze historical weather data, long-term climate patterns, historical data on cherry blossom bloom dates, and current weather forecasts to predict the optimal bloom period. A lot goes into this — all for some flowers!
Always be on the lookout for cherry blossom forecasts (usually announced several weeks in advance) on social media, forums, etc, and make sure you’re looking at the correct city!
Cherry blossoms reach peak bloom at different times of the month depending where in the country they are. Generally, the southern cities (Jeju Island, Busan, Jinhae) reach peak bloom earlier than areas in the north (Seoul, Incheon, Gyeongju, etc), so plan your trip accordingly if you’re visiting multiple cities.
Is the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival worth it?
After personally visiting and seeing all the festivities for myself, I say a resounding yes! BUT – of course there’s a but, haha, I wouldn’t plan my entire trip to Korea around the festival.
Why? Because cherry blossom bloom dates are exceptionally hard to accurately predict for a multitude of reasons (like I mentioned above), and it’d suck to miss them by only a few days (which happens to so many people unfortunately). We got super, super lucky that it just so happened to be peak bloom our entire week in Korea – in Jinhae, Busan, and then Seoul (which I’m so, so grateful for; love when the timing just works out!).
And remember — if you’re hoping to have a peaceful day around the cherry blossoms (and looking for serene photos without any photobombers), you’ll be wildly disappointed. Safe to say you won’t be alone, no matter when you visit, as the festival is beyond popular – expect huge crowds and long lines everywhere in Jinhae during festival dates.
Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival Logistics
Where is the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival?
The Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Jinhae, a district in Changwon City, in the South Gyeongsang Province of South Korea. It’s situated on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula, near the city of Busan, where we did our guided day trip from. Although it’s pretty far from Seoul (about 250 miles away), plenty of people still visit for only a day (but expect to spend more time traveling than actually enjoying the festival, haha).
Here’s some distances from other popular places in Korea:
- Busan: ~40 kilometers (25 miles) – the closest big city to Jinhae
- Gyeongju: ~200 kilometers (124 miles)
- Daejeon: ~240 kilometers (149 miles)
- Seoul: ~400 kilometers (250 miles)
- Incheon: ~430 kilometers (267 miles)
- Jeju Island: You’d need to fly to Busan and travel from there!
Note that the festival events and main cherry blossom viewing spots are spread out throughout Jinhae. Which makes sense since the cherry blossom trees are all over! Here’s the main scenic spots (we went to the first two on our tour!):
- Yeojwacheon Stream: This is where you’ll find the picturesque cherry blossom tunnel, easily one of the most photographed locations during the festival. The blossoms create a delicate canopy over the stream, and I heard the area is beautifully illuminated at night.
- Gyeonghwa Station: This old train station is surrounded by thousands of cherry trees, making it one of the most iconic spots to visit during the cherry blossom festival. It’s famous for its “Cherry Blossom Road,” with rows of cherry blossom trees lining both sides of the railway tracks – think epic photos!
- Anmingogae Hill: Hike up the hill for panoramic views of Jinhae blanketed in cherry blossoms.
- Jehwangsan Park: Another iconic spot with sweeping views of Jinhae and of course plenty and plenty of cherry blossom trees!
How to get to Jinhae
Guided Bus Tour to Jinhae
The easiest option by far is to obviously book an all-day guided bus tour! This is the option we chose, as we weren’t super confident taking public transit and were definitely not renting a car for a day (just seemed silly and more trouble than it’d be worth, plus traffic and parking problems).
Don’t feel like navigating the trains and/or buses super early in the morning? I feel you, friend (that’s my worst nightmare).
Thankfully, there’s guided bus tours for all of us who just want to be picked up and brought directly to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival (and then transported between the different major spots in Jinhae itself). Super, super convenient, and ensures you reach Jinhae before the masses do since you’re on the tour bus’ schedule (and good tours leave early).
Bus tours leave from both Busan and Seoul, and make scheduled stops at both the stream and train station (the two most popular places at the festival). I’d 1000% book the tour again, as it was quite effortless on our part and we honestly didn’t need to worry about a thing.
Not only was our guide spectacular, but the bus was comfy, we arrived at the first cherry blossom spot before it got crazy crowded, and we didn’t feel rushed at all (plenty of time for snack stops and photo ops). Such a seamless day – I was honestly pretty impressed. And plus, it ensures you have transport back home that afternoon/night – you better believe public transit during the festival is all kinds of crazy busy.
Book the guided bus tour here (with options for pickup in both Seoul and Busan).
Make sure to book ASAP, as the festival is only 10 days long so naturally tours get sold out fast once the dates are released.
Public Transportation to Jinhae
IMPORTANT NOTE: Google Maps does not work in South Korea. Make sure you download Naver Map or KakaoMap for real-time directions and transit schedules.
IMPORTANT NOTE #2: If you’re planning to take public transportation, buy train and/or bus tickets in advance. Transportation is in huge demand during the festival, understandably so!
From Seoul
Look on a map – Seoul is quite far from Jinhae (they’re on opposite sides of the country!). But don’t worry, there’s two options to get to Jinhae from Seoul, both by train and bus.
By Train (KTX): Take the Korail KTX train (a high-speed train very similar to bullet trains in Japan) from Seoul Station to Changwon Station, which takes just over 3 hours. Once you make it to Changwon, you can take a local bus or taxi to Jinhae, taking another 30-40 minutes or so. Definitely book your ticket from Seoul to Changwon Station ahead of time as they tend to sell out (at least a few days).
By Bus: Take an express bus from Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal to Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal (takes about 4 to 4.5 hours). Then take a short taxi or bus ride to the festival locations (Yeojwacheon Stream and Gyeonghwa Station).
To be honest, I don’t recommend taking public transit from Seoul to Jinhae unless you’re planning to spend the night in Jinhae. The day’s just gonna be way too long and sounds almost unbearable to me! But I’ve done similar things on day trips, so I get it – if you’ve only got a week in Korea you wanna fit it all in. But really though, just book the guided tour; it’ll be way less stressful and not much more expensive.
From Busan
Busan is the closest big city to Jinhae, so if you’ve got Busan on your South Korea itinerary, it makes sense to visit from there. And that’s exactly what we did!
After spending 3 days in Busan, we hopped on a guided bus tour. Busan is WAY closer to Jinhae than Seoul, so you thankfully don’t have to wake up as early, haha.
By Express Bus: Direct buses are available from Sasang/Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal directly to Jinhae, taking about an hour or so. You’ll then need to take a taxi or local bus to the festival sites once you reach Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal.
In past years, buses departed from Sasang bus station every 30 minutes taking visitors directly to the festival, so fingers crossed that’s still an option when you visit!
By Train: Take a Mugunghwa or ITX-Saemaeul train from Busan Station to Changwon Station (takes about 40 minutes to an hour or so). Once at Changwon Station, you’ll need to take a local bus or taxi to Jinhae, which takes about 30 minutes.
Driving to Jinhae
If you really want max control and flexibility over your day, consider renting a car! Super easy coming from Busan, as the drive is only an hour and a half or so.
To be frank, if you’re visiting from Seoul as a day trip, just forget about driving yourself. Driving ~10 hours round trip in one day (half after a busy day at the festival) just isn’t safe. Plan to book a guided bus tour instead.
Remember, if you’re driving to Jinhae, you’ll need to worry about parking. Thankfully, there’s designated parking areas available for visitors, especially during the cherry blossom festival. Definitely arrive early (especially on weekends) in order to avoid major congestion – I can’t stress this enough (MILLIONS of people visit the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival over the course of 10 days – kinda wild!).
When does the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival take place?
Whenever peak bloom is predicted! This typically means late March to early April, but exact dates vary slightly every year since it really depends on the cherry blossom forecast. There’s not gonna be a festival before/after the blooms of course!
To provide some context, here’s some past dates of the festival:
- 2024: March 23 – April 1
- 2023: March 25 – April 3
- 2020-2022: canceled
- 2019: March 29 – April 7
- 2018: March 30 – April 8
- 2017: April 1 – 10
As you can tell from the above dates, it seems as if the festival is starting earlier and earlier every year. While this is no indication for next year, keep this in mind when planning your week in Korea!
Our guide said that not many cherry blossoms were in bloom even on the first day of the festival, and the visitors he took were pretty disappointed (I get it – I’d be super sad if I traveled all that way!). It’s hard to predict Mother Nature after all, and these trees are fickle!
With that being said, if you’re able to, I’d plan my visit to Jinhae towards the middle of the festival, which hopefully ensures more flowers are in bloom. Of course there’s no way to predict exact peak bloom when you book your tour, but may as well give yourself the best chance! If I remember correctly, we went on the 7th day of the festival, and blooms were at about 80-90% peak.
BUT keep an eye out on the weather. Cherry blossom season only continues until the first significant spring rainfall. Why? Because spring storms can sometimes knock the petals off the trees. If rain is forecasted on or just before peak bloom, consider visiting earlier. Told you it’s hard to plan correctly!
What is the best time of day to visit the festival?
Unsurprisingly, the festival sees its largest crowds smack in the middle of the day. Visit early morning or late afternoon to avoid this.
But what’s unique about the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival is that there’s a whole nighttime component! The cherry blossoms are illuminated in various colors along Yeojwacheon Stream, and this is a popular time to visit as well (understandably so). Oh so magical!
If you’re on a guided tour you typically need to choose between a day time visit and an evening visit. We opted for the daytime visit as I really wanted to take in the scenic beauty in their natural state, and I felt it’d be easier to capture the delicate details of the blossoms in natural lighting.
How to Get Around Jinhae
Since the main cherry blossom festival spots are kinda spread out, you won’t be able to walk between them quickly. For example, the two main spots (the stream and the train station) are about 3km apart! Meaning you’ll need another way to get between the two, unless you’re up for a very long walk of course.
If you booked a guided day tour (from either Busan or Seoul), you don’t have to worry about transit within Jinhae since the tour takes care of that for you.
DIYing it? Thankfully, the festival organizers provide special shuttle buses that connect major attractions like Yeojwacheon Stream, Gyeonghwa Station, and Jehwangsan Park. But of course, while super convenient, these get insanely full, so always have a back up plan (taxi or local bus – have your destination written in Korean to show the driver).
Main Spots at the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival
Jinhae is COVERED in cherry blossoms (really, they’re everywhere), but there’s a few special spots that are particularly dense (and where you MUST visit).
Gyeonghwa Station
If you’ve done any research on cherry blossoms in Korea, you’ve undoubtedly seen photos of Gyeonghwa Station. It’s one of the most iconic and picturesque spots during the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival afterall! And although it’s no longer an active train station (discontinued since 2006), it’s super popular due to its stunning cherry blossom displays.
The station is famous for its “cherry blossom tunnel,” where rows of cherry trees line the railway tracks – we had so much fun walking the tracks and taking pictures (while dodging the crowds, haha).
Note that the train is purely decorative, and other stations nearby have replaced it. Although Gyeonghwa Station once served as the primary train station for the region, it has since been decommissioned, and the train there is now permanently on display.
Expect crowds, and then more crowds, and then a few more, haha. We were lucky that we got here relatively early (around 9:30am or so), and it wasn’t beyond packed with people (just yet). Remember, a lot of people take a day trip from Seoul, so unless they leave at 5am or so, they’re not getting there in the early AM.
Yeojwacheon Stream
This was probably my favorite area of the entire cherry blossom festival. I mean, the stream is completely lined with cherry trees (on both sides), creating a canopy of cherry blossoms overhead! There’s art installations both above the stream and down below (think heart-shaped arches and flower-decorated structures, meaning tons of fun photo ops), and it was so fun to see the different decorations. Definitely another must-visit location during the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival.
Similar to many tourist attractions in Korea, this particular spot gained huge popularity thanks to a K-drama (what else is new?!). It was prominently featured in MBC’s 2002 TV series “Romance,” where the two main characters first met on a bridge over this exact river.
Note that the stream is the most crowded towards the beginning, but as we walked further and further it cleared out a bit.
If you’re visiting the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival at night, this is the place to be. The stream is illuminated at night – just imagine your evening stroll over here!
Anmingogae Hill and Jehwangsan Park
These are two other spots with great panoramic views of the city (blanketed in cherry blossoms of course), but not as popular as the station and stream. Most tours don’t stop over here, and since we followed the itinerary set out by our guided tour, we didn’t either!
Is there food at the festival?
Most definitely! There’s a good variety of local street food and plenty of different cherry-blossom-themed snacks to try, which are always my favorite! I love a good theme.
Think Korean staples like gimbap, tteokbokki, and strawberries (oh so sweet and juicy), and more seasonal snacks like cherry blossom ice cream, strawberry milk (my new favorite), tanghulu (sugar coated fruit – not my favorite, haha), cherry blossom waffles, and even cotton candy!
We definitely didn’t go hungry, although we primarily just ate snacks all day, haha (which I’m never mad about, and what we recently did in Universal Studios Hollywood).
It’s important to always carry some cash on hand, as not all street vendors accept credit cards. Definitely keep some Korean won on you so you can try all the things!
Other FAQs About the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival
- What to take to the festival? A camera (of course!), a light jacket (for the cooler days), and an umbrella or raincoat in case of rain (weather in early April can be unpredictable). Plus sunscreen, always sunscreen (plus the ones in Korea are far superior than sunscreens back in the states) – pick up a few at Olive Young! And take some allergy meds beforehand if you suffer from seasonal allergies (there’s a massive amount of flowers here after all!).
- What to wear to the festival? Something comfy and festive! I wore a light pink maxi dress, and convinced my husband to wear a pink button down, haha. Plan to wear comfortable walking shoes as well – it’s a long day! I was super impressed by how stylish and put together Koreans are, and I could tell their pictures looked incredible.
- Is the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival touristy? 1000%, haha. People flock from all over the country (and the world!) to admire the cherry blossoms in Jinhae. We were surprised that we mostly saw Asian tourists, and hardly any Americans/Europeans, which was actually pretty refreshing to see.
- Can I do a day trip to Jinhae? You certainly can! BUT I’d *highly* recommend joining a guided bus tour, especially if you’re coming from Seoul (yes, they exist!). Travel time by train or bus is around 4 to 5 hours one way, so you would spend most of your day on transportation.
- Can I visit the Yeojwacheon Stream and/or Gyeonghwa Station before or after the festival? Sure, of course! You can visit them anytime of year, although you’ll only see cherry blossoms during cherry blossom season! And obviously the blooms are what makes these two spots oh so popular.
- How to avoid the crowds? Sorry to break it to ya, but you can’t, haha. Since the festival is only for a few days (coinciding with cherry blossom season), everyone flocks to Jinhae for peak bloom. BUT this doesn’t mean you can’t visit a few days before and after the festival and not see blooms – it definitely won’t be peak bloom and there’s no guarantee any cherry blossoms will be there, but still worth a shot if you’re nearby (I definitely wouldn’t travel very far though).
- How much does it cost to visit the festival? Entrance is absolutely free, although you’ll of course need to account for transportation to Jinhae (whether that be DIY or with a guided tour) and food and snacks at the festival.
- Should I stay overnight in Jinhae? You totally could if you wanna visit over multiple days, but I personally found one day at the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival more than enough. I mean, there’s honestly not much to do there besides admire the blooms, take pictures of the blooms, stroll the town, and eat! If you are planning on staying overnight, make sure to book your hotel WAY in advance as the number of people visiting Jinhae is insane!
- Is the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival and Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival the same thing? Yup, the official name of the cherry blossom festival is actually Jinhae Naval Base Festival (Gunhangje), since Jinhae is where the Korean Navy base is.
- What’s so special about cherry blossoms anyways? I think they’re just super pretty (look at how delicate they are), and the fact that they’re in peak bloom for less than 2 weeks out of the entire year makes them super special to see. Plus, in Korea, cherry blossoms symbolize beauty and purity, and in K-pop culture, they’re often associated with love.
- Where else to see cherry blossoms in Korea? All over! We saw so many cherry blossoms in Seoul and Busan, and I would’ve loved to visit other parts of the country but all we had was a week in Korea!
- Is it worth it to visit Jinhae outside of cherry blossom season? Hmm… I’d have to say no. Jinhae is a smaller district in the larger Changwon City, and there’s not a ton to do here for tourists (although there are some pretty hikes and views). It’s pretty quiet with a few charming areas, but there’s far more interesting places to visit in Korea if you don’t have tons of time.
- What other cherry blossom festivals are in South Korea? Can’t make it all the way to Jinhae? There’s others – Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival (Seoul), the Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival (Seoul), the Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival and Marathon (Busan), and the Cherry Blossom Festival on Jeju Island.
So there ya have it! Everything you need to know about visiting the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival in South Korea! Have you thought about visiting before?!
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