In Pursuit of Autumn Colours In Korea 2011

 Capture the silvery, delicate beauty of  eulalia or pampas grass ( Haneul Park in Seoul. /Newsis)  

Stunning maple reds are expected to be in full display between 18th and  20th October in Seoraksan. Brace yourselves for crowded trails and be prepared to share the beautiful scenery with hordes of visitors and wait in line to snap photos of your loved ones posing beside a particularly pretty tree.

The trees in Yeouido in Seoul are already changing colour also.

Fall foliage is expected to peak around 22nd of October.

Check out the photos of Korea's autumn colours on this blog for some inspiration.

Some hints from an amateur for great shots:

1. Go early to avoid heads intruding into your photos.

2. Head for the temples in the national and provincial parks.

3. Balance close-ups and wide-angle shots.

sources:

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/10/11/2011101100390.html

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/10/03/2011100300354.html
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/10/115_96329.html
http://www.pbase.com/dbh/autumn

Autumn Leaves Schedule for Korea, 2011

Here's the 2011 Fall Foliage Schedule, lifted from the KTO website.

"The Korea Meteorological Administration recently announced that the autumnal tint will be making its appearance 1-6 days later than it has in previous years. Leaves on Jirisan Mountain and the central regions of Korea are expected to start changing between October 3rd and 19th, while the southern regions will start experiencing the seasonal bursts of color between October 13th and 30th.

The first foliage* of Seoraksan Mountain is predicted to start around October 3rd, and will reach its peak** around October 18th. The peak time of fall foliage on Naejangsan Mountain will be around the 7th of November. Last but not least, the autumnal tint will peak in the central regions and Jirisan Mountain around middle to late October, and in the southern regions around late October to early November.

2011 Autumn Foliage Schedule ( I've just selected some national parks. For the full schedule, click here.)

How to Read the Info Below:
National Park - Date for First Foliage - Date for the Peak Foliage

NOTE:

*First foliage = 20% of a given area’s foliage has changed color
**Peak foliage = 80% or more of a given area’s foliage has changed colors


Seoraksan  in Gangwon-do (설악산) 10.3 - 10.20
Bukhansan  in Gyeonggi-do, nearest to Seoul  (북한산) 10.19 -  10.28
Naejangsan, a popular place for viewing maple reds (내장산) 10.26 -  11.7
Jirisan - one of the biggest national parks (지리산) 10.13 10.23
Hallasan on Jeju-do (한라산) 10.17- 10.28

See earlier posting on shorter autumns in Korea

sources:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=1391042
Courtesy of: Korea Meteorological Administration

An Early Winter or Extra Chilly Autumn in Jeju?

Caption from the KBS website: Hoarfrost forms on trees at Mt. Halla in Jeju Island as morning lows dip to minus 5 degrees Celsius Tuesday

The autumn foliage in Hallasan on Jeju-do was supposed to peak around the 9th of November but guess what? Winter seems to have out-paced autumn, from the looks of this photo featured in the KBS World Radio website.  

Pardon my ignorance as one who lives on the equator but can anyone out there reassure me that hoarfrost doesn't automatically spell the onset of winter? Even so, I'd like my seasons to be clearly demarcated and it's disconcerting to see autumn behave like a different season.

Click here for 2010 autumn foliage forecast.

source:

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_photo_detail.htm?No=15541

Autumn's All-Too-Brief Lease?

This is just a short record so that I have some basis for comparison for next year. My suspicion that autumn is getting shorter seems to be confirmed but let's see what next week is like.

Update: Thankfully my suspicion was ungrounded. Those in Korea enjoyed quite a long autumn in 2010.

Maples leaves have already turned red in Namsam in Seoul.

 Golden gingko leaves are starting to fall in Gangwon-do.

Is it autumn or winter in Korea already?

Temperatures plunged to sub-zero levels this week.

sources:

Chosun Ilbo and Korea Times

Stunning Autumn Colours in Chuncheon

Although the main event was the 2010 Chuncheon Marathon in Gangwon-do,  I'm cutting and pasting this photo from the Chosun Ilbo on account of the arresting backdrop to the sports event. Forget about the participants running along the bridge. Just look at the tapestry of colours on the cliff in the background. What a sight. Wonder if any of the runners were distracted enough by the beauty to stop and stare?

Just wishing I was there.

From On the Nine Beautiful Sights in a Mountain  by Yi Yi


The seventh is maples and rocks where autumn's reflected
They are clad with silken cloth of thin clear frost.
Sitting on a cold crag I forget where my house is.


칠곡은 어디메고 풍암楓巖에 추색이 좋다
청상淸霜이 엷게 치니 절벽이 금수이로다
한암寒巖에 혼자 앉아서 집을 잊고 있노라


sources:http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/10/25/2010102500358.html

http://image.chosun.com/special/inside/flash/100920/100920_autumn_eng.html

http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/~kyoon/sijo.htm

Quintessential Autumn Colours of Korea

Started out posting  photos of what I thought were the quintessential images of winter in Korea. It soon developed into a mini-series of sorts on this blog with two other postings on spring and summer. To complete this set, here are some pictures of my favourite autumnal colours  in Korea in no particular order.

1. The cosmos is one of the earliest heralds of autumn altlhough it actually starts to bloom in late summer. This wild flower comes in various colours and it also provides inspiration for poets like Ko-Un. Thanks to Bro. Anthony for this translation.

Autumn from Young People's Songs for the Four Seasons

Descending from a train, at every rural station
banks of cosmos were blossoming amidst the coughing
and from the heavens your eyelids were drooping.
As night grew deeper, the stars gave birth.
On an empty table heaped with your death
I happened to receive a brief letter.
A letter is always a death, and a life.
Insects in autumn meadows die splendidly only if leaves are
blown from the trees, not simply falling,
and likewise falls the leaf of your fingerprint voice

Click here for where you can admire cosmos a.k.a. 코스모스    or koseumoseu in Korea.

2. The  cluster amaryllis or kkotmureut blooms around Chuseok  in September. A powder extracted from the dried bulbs of thee crimsom flowers has been used to preserve Buddhist paintings so you can expect to see these on temple grounds such as Seonamsa.  

3. The ghostly beauty of the graceful silver grass will be celebrated throughout October in the Mindungsan Mountain Silvergrass Festival in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do.

4. The size of this photo doesn't do justice to the striking view of persimmons hanging like tiny orange lanterns on bare boughs. The appearance of birds must have been an added bonus for the photographer, Robert.

5. Once read that little compares to the ethereal beauty of a field of buckwheat flowers in the evening light. Apparently its scent is also another autumnal pleasure to savour. The 12th Hyoseok Cultural Festival was held recently in Bongpyeong, the birthplace of author, Lee Hyoseok who gained fame for his short story, "When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom". I've read one version of it and don't really understand why it resonates so strongly with Koreans. Perhaps one has to be Korean to appreciate fully the story but fortunately one doesn't need to be of any particular nationality to enjoy these flowers.

6. A pity that I could never place white chrysanthemums to decorate the home as my culture has the same practice as the Koreans in using them for funeral wreaths. According to one source, Koreans began to use them for mourning rites at the end of Joseon Kingdom in the late 19th century. While I love the austere purity of the white blooms, the flowers traditionally stood for ``nobility'' and ``solemnity'' and the white variety is in keeping with the Korean tradition of wearing mourning clothes made of white hemp. Still, Koreans are free to celebrate with chrysanthemums in other colours in festivals such as the Masan Chrysanthemum Festival.

7. Don't bother asking me which  is my favourite autumn tree as I would always be torn between the gingko tree ( eunhaeng namu ) and the maple tree. I've heard of people cursing the stink emanating from gingko nuts when they are accidentally stepped on  but I just love the lovely gold and fan-shape of the gingko leaves. For some fancilful stories about this tree which proved hardy enough to survive the Hiroshima blasts, click here.

8. There's good reason why KNTO promotes Maple Korea but I've said it before and I'll say it again here. I worry how about global warming is playing havoc with the carotenoids and anthocyanins ( part of the chemistry and metabolic system of the trees that explain the change of colour). Just hope my feat that autumn is getting shorter and shorter in Korea is unfounded.

9. The mellow browns of metasequoias such as those flanking a road in Damyang or a lane in Nami-seon have a regal air about them. Click here for an earlier posting on these impressive trees which look even more awesome in autumn.

10.  Was wondering how to conclude this list - should I focus on the jujube or red date plant or ginseng? But I stumbled upon a website with these pretty yellow-white flowers of the green tea bushes which apparently bloom between September and November. Had never seen these before but I like drinking green tea more than ginseng so the debate ended there.


Sources:
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/10/12/2010101200361.html

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/10/09/2010100900322.html
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/09/13/2010091300346.html
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2926332
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/10/115_73477.html
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/10/115_73391.html
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2926990
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2926950
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/news/news_photo_detail.htm?No=15329¤t_page=2
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2926536
http://www.korea.net/exploring.do
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=697123
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_2_1.jsp?cid=293025
http://maryeats.com/2006/10/21/the-truth-about-persimmons/
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/beverage/recipe-sujeonggwa-korean-persimmon-punch-075162
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Korea-Andong-Hahoe_Folk_Village-Persimmon_tree_and_birds-01.jpg
http://discoverkorea.co.kr/bbs/view.php?id=news&page=2&sn1=&divpage=1&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&select_arrange=hit&desc=asc&no=22
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=260977
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=1101200
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/09/113_45777.html
http://www.korea.net/detail.do?guid=28314
http://www.thewip.net/contributors/2008/08/south_asias_oldest_tree_specie.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autumn_leaf_color