KICK ASS KOREA
reason 20
Flowers aren’t only just for boys. This past weekend the 15th Goyang Korea Flower Show wrapped up its two week testament to flora. The event took place at the Goyang flower Center in Lake Park, Goyang City which is part of Ilsan. The motto for this year’s event was “Sweet Scent, Full Happiness” and I’m happy to say I’ve never read truer words.
To appreciate the full scope of the event you should know some of the details. For instance, the size of the exhibition was 14,668 meters. Participants included over 96 local companies and 28 foreign companies from over 13 different countries. The festivities are organized by the Goyang City International Flower Foundation and take place every other year.
The indoor exhibition hall housed a fair share of the event. The beginning of the exhibit featured vendors from Korea and abroad showcasing the more unusual flowers from their respective lands. Moving further into the exhibit the hall opened up into a Garden of Eden. Here exotic plants twisted were expertly sculpted into people, animals, and odd shapes. A cascading waterfall of flowers the color or rainbow sherbet could be glimpsed in one corner while elsewhere a huge flora white tiger proved to be a popular backdrop for photos. Another exhibit melded flower and metal in a fusion of hard edged beauty.
Outside the exhibit took on a more whimsical mood. Here you could find pictorials of famous movie scenes like the Wizard of Oz or recreations of historical events all done in flowers. A huge skater boy and his pint sized girl power sidekick was the center piece. A rainbow maze garden along with the children’s story garden seemed to be a big draw for couples and families waiting to take their own photo op. Personally, I loved the serenity and gentle loveliness of the bonsai portion of the exhibit. Here the plants and flowers were transformed into refined cranes mingling with stately aristocrats beside a wooden bridge.
If you happened to be lucky enough to attend the festival during the two weeks you had access to a number of special events. On the grounds there was a flower painting contest, Mosaic Culture competition, a showcase of works by five modern flower artists (Gong Jae-sun, Kim Young-joo, Shin Young-ah, Hyun, Seung-woo, and Gong Jeong-mo) and a Traditional Flower Arrangement Contest. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to participate in any events but hopefully next time I will.
To wrap up the day at the flower show I couldn’t simply walk away without buying something. Here dozens of vendors were on hand with prices so low they were practically throwing the plants at me. The flowers and plants at Goyang Flower Show were way more reasonable than the Flower City in Yangjae. Even if you missed the flower show Lake Park in Ilsan has a lot to offer on a bright sunny day.
