Springtime in Korea | The 3 best villages to visit in March

For Canadians, especially those of us living in the nation’s Capital, the month of March is typically represented by grey skies and slushy roads, the weather constantly alternating between rain storms and blizzarding snow.

The staff at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Cultural Centre of Canada know this well, since they’re both located in downtown Ottawa!

When we think about escaping the dreary days of winter (yes, March is very much still winter here), most people think of the same places: Miami, Los Angeles, Cancun, Dominican Republic. Sure sandy beaches are nice, but they’re not much to look at, and they get boring fast. Why limit ourselves to such narrow vacationing options?

Enter three incredible, breathtaking destinations in Korea, where the best time to visit is March.

Gwangyang Maehwa Village (광양 매화마을)

Is that snow covering all the treetops? We’re supposed to be getting away from the snow!

Don’t worry, it’s not snow at all. The sprawling white you’ll see here in the springtime is actually the delicate blossoms of plum trees!

In the southern region, follow the Seomjingang (섬진강), a river, to Jirisan (지리산), the tallest mountain on mainland Korea at 1915m. There, at the edge of the mountain, you’ll find Seomjin Village (섬진마을).

It’s more commonly known as “Maehwa Village” (매화마을), even though that’s not its real name. The reason it’s referred to this way is because, instead of growing crops and grains like most other agrarian towns in Korea, the residents here cultivate plum trees on their farmland.

Though you’ll have to wait until June if you want to pluck nice ripe plums from these trees, to see the whimsical floral “snow”, you need to visit in March!

“When translated back from Korean, 강 (gang) means “river”, and
산 (san) means “mountain”. So, to say it properly, it’s either “Seomjin River” or Seomjingang; “Jiri Mountain” or Jirisan.”

Jeonju Hanok Village (전북 전주 한옥마을)

Interested in Korean historical traditions? Want a taste of Korean culture? Then this is the place for you.

In the mostly-industrialized city of Jeonju (전주), there is a pocket of land frozen in time - a place where 735 traditional hanok houses still stand. The village has a special charm due to the contrast between historical and modern buildings standing side-by-side.

Hanok (한옥) are houses from the 14th Century, first designed during the Joseon Dynasty. I would share the cool history but this is already too long, so click here to read more.

Jeonju’s Hanok Village is distinct because of its historical buildings’ unique roofs with upturned edges. They also feature heated floors for winter (I think Canadians can relate).

Wait, how did they have that when the invention of electricity was more than five centuries away?

A traditional architecture technique, ondol (온돌), uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of masonry floors.

If you intend to visit, the village was officially designated a “Slow City” (a place where nature and culture grow together in harmony) by the Italian organization Cittaslow in 2010, so take note!

Gurye Sansuyu Village (구례 산수유마을)

Photo of a creek with big rocks and a wooden walkway in Gurye Sansuyu — ©VisitKorea

If you’ve never heard of sansuyu, you’re going to want to try it after this.

Sansuyu (산수유), also known as the “cornus fruit” or “dogwood fruit”, is described as having a “tropical pudding-like flavor” and are known to be both sweet and tart once ripened. Sounds delicious right?

Not only are they tasty, but like many other fruit trees, they spend the month of March blooming beautiful blossoms.

You’ll want to visit Sandong-myeon 산동면 (in the Gurye-gun 구례군 region) and take a trip to “The Sansuyu Village” to get the best view; with a stunning naturally-occurring landscape ahead and a picturesque mountain range behind, you may feel like you’re in another world. Plus there are hot springs nearby…

There isn’t much (or any) exotic fruit to be found here in Canada, so it looks like a flavor adventure to Korea is next on the menu!

Now doesn’t that all sound like more fun than sitting on the beach? ;)