Gurye Sansuyu Flower Festival

My friends, Jenny and Elizabeth, and I headed to Gurye for the Sansuyu Flower Festival on March 22. It was a pretty small festival compared to others I have been to, but it still offered quite a bit. We took a bus early Saturday morning to Gurye, where we stayed the night at Little Prince Pension. It was a really cute place with a log cabin feel. And the bed was super comfortable, which is not always the case in Korea.
We spent the rest of Saturday walking around the festival grounds. There were several booths offering typical festival foods and some for making various items from the sansusyu flower or berry. We also wandered through the surrounding area, which was filled with lots of trees covered with the yellow flower. I think the trees are best appreciated very close up, so you can see the interesting shape of the flower, or from quite a distance, so it looks like a sea of yellow. They weren't the most impressive blossoms I've seen, but they had their own unique beauty. And it produces a delicious berry, which makes some tasty tea and makgeolli (Korean rice wine).

Since we were at the festival on the opening day, we were able to enjoy a bit more exciting of a schedule than the other days presented. There were several live performances throughout the day, including a percussion band and several dancers and singers. Girl's Day, a fairly popular K-pop group, also performed. We didn't know about the performances beforehand, so it was a nice surprise and a delightful experience. We were sat on some rocks near the top of a (man-made) fountain to watch the performances, giving us a nice view of the stage. And the experience was made all the better by the delicious sansuyu makgeolli we drank. We bought two bottles of prepackaged makgeolli from one of the stalls, but then later discovered a booth selling freshly made makgeolli for an even better price. We were a bit bummed at first, because the fresh stuff was so much better. So we drank one of the prepackaged bottles, but then decided the fresh stuff was just too good to pass up. We ended up drinking a bottle of the fresh stuff as well, skipping our second prepackaged bottle. I would definitely prefer to have fresh makgeolli any time! I was amazed at the difference in taste. It was a fantastic evening.

Sunday we headed to Hwaeomsa Temple, which was very close to our pension. There was a 3,500 won charge to get in, which I thought was a bit steep. The temple was lovely and had a bit different of a lay out from other Korean temples I've seen. There were also a few unpainted buildings, which really allowed the beauty of the wood and carvings to show. The trees and surrounding mountainside were also beautiful, and the weather was perfect. It was a really lovely area and a serene place to stroll through.
After our hike, we checked out and headed back to the festival area with the intention of visiting the hot spring spa in the area. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to the area (traffic at festivals in Korea is insane! they just never seem to plan strategically for it), we didn't have enough time to enjoy the hot springs. We ended up getting (a late) lunch at one of the restaurants in the area, and then riding the bus back to the Gurye bus terminal to catch our bus back to Daegu. The ride back to Daegu felt so long, and I was happy when we finally arrived in the city a quarter to 9 p.m. I then rode the subway home, unpacking and relaxing a bit before turning in for the night.
Overall, the Sansuyu Festival was quite nice. I was so glad to share it with my lovely friends. They definitely made the experience even better!