Every spring, cherry blossom trees bloom in Seoul, South Korea. This year, the flowers were especially beautiful. Tourism officials called it the best cherry blossom season in more than ten years.
The Seoul Cherry Blossom Festival ran from March 28 to April 6. It was held at Seokchon Lake and Yeouido Street. The festival attracted 4.2 million visitors in ten days. That is 18 percent more than last year.
Yeouido Street is about 1.7 kilometers long. Around 1,800 cherry trees line the street near the National Assembly building. They create a beautiful tunnel of pink flowers. Seokchon Lake in the Songpa district has about 1,000 cherry trees. Their blossoms reflect on the water.
The weather helped the flowers this year. March was about 9.4 degrees Celsius, which is 1.2 degrees warmer than normal. A short cold period in mid-March slowed the blooming and made the flowers fuller. Usually, cherry blossoms last five to seven days. This year, they lasted nearly ten days.
The festival helped local businesses. Shops and food stalls in the Yeouido area earned 35 percent more money than last year. The festival brought around 127 billion won to Seoul's economy.
Managing large crowds was difficult. On one day, 620,000 people visited the Yeouido area. The city sent over 1,200 police officers to help. Some roads became walking-only areas. Nearby metro stations had 40 percent more passengers. A new smartphone app showed how busy each area was. More than 350,000 people downloaded it during the festival.