Hi guys! This is my second article for September, and I?m sorry to have been away for a while. This month was especially busy, and I really did a lot of things during Chuseok, one of the longest national holidays in Korea. One of the most unique and meaningful experience was a visit to the Gyeongsang-bukdo (Province) Forest Research Center.

           I visited my grandparents? house during Chuseok, and I went to the forest research center with my family. The whole area was surrounded with lush forests, and we were surrounded by tall trees at the entrance.  They had also made a small stream used for ecosystem studies, and it was filled with many plants and amphibians.

           The weather was still hot despite the fact that it was September. However, I could see a lot of fall plants with their flowers blooming. The most prominent was the red spider lily (Lycoris radiate), a flower with long red petals that really resemble the shape of spider legs.  It is one of the most common flowers that can be seen in Korea during the fall, and surely, the whole research center was filled with them.

           I also visited a pond near the research center named Seochoolji, one of the most famous ponds around the area. Legend says that King Soji of Shilla, an ancient nation that existed about thousand years ago, got a mysterious letter at this pond. Anyways, it was filled with beautiful water lilies, and it formed a magnificent sight with the yellow rice paddies in the background.

           South Korea is currently in the transitional period between summer and fall as numerous other countries around the world, and we can see both summer and fall plants around us. A trip to the research center was a memorable experience.

Picture Descriptions

1. Standing in front of the artificial stream used for ecosystem studies.

 (Yup, that's me :))

2. Red spider lily (Lycoris radiate)

3. A tree tunnel

4. Dawn redwood (Metasequoia)

5. Seochoolji