I came across this blog while looking for still life images. What is really funny is that my hairdresser, Sharon, and I were discussing the odd fact that she was the second Sharon who has cut my hair. Sharon #1 did it for over twenty years. Sharon #2 and I have been working together for almost 2 years. It is an uncommon name unless you are of a certain age. It became popular in the 50’s and disappeared by the end of the decade it seems. I haven’t met that many Sharon’s…
So while cutting and taming my unruly tresses, Sharon was telling me about her garden, and how her religious mother named her after the biblical Rose of Sharon– in her mother’s memory, she was trying to get a Rose of Sharon bush started this spring in her yard. I know the plant as the evergreen Althea or hardy Hibiscus – an old school form of rose hedge. Simpler than the floribundas that most people think of when you say “Rose”; but personally, I think that I like them better.
What was intriguing was after all this garden talk — was that I found out that the Korean National Flower is the “Mugung hwa” – also known as:
“The Rose of Sharon”
John’s Korean teacher told him, “The spirit of the Korean people is like the national flower…” “mugung” means “forever/eternity” and “hwa” is the chinese character for flower…
The Korean people have lasted, survived – the flowers survive for a long time, blossoming in early summer and staying in bloom through to almost November.
“Am I like the mugung-hwa?” he mused. Now I know I am a survivor- after everything that could go wrong has in my life. How appropriate that such a simple flower can be so powerful.
His Korean teacher also said, “The Japanese national flower is the ‘sakura’ – or the ‘cherry blossom’. Every cherry bud blooms in one week, and then all falls to the grown the next. This is the spirit of the Japanese people.”
Perhaps there are still a few bad feelings from the occupation…
reposted from John’s “Seoul in my Soul” blog http://jooyeol.wordpress.com/category/life/
Forest of Dreams 