Korean national flower is the Hibiscus syriacus, or rose of Sharon and it is called 무궁화 (Mu Gung Hwa) in Korean.
무궁화 (Mu Gung Hwa) literally means 'Infinite flower' or 'Eternal flower'
Flower that blooms eternally and never falls.
It is a symbol of the Korean people's enduring spirit and the love of this flower is well reflected in the natioanl anthem, where the verse goes "splended rivers and mountains with endless roads of Mugunghwa"
Source : https://nuri.iksi.or.kr/
I love how the Korean national flag and the national flower both represent ideas about Truth and eternity.
The flow of nature depicted by the ying and yang in the flag and the eternal nature of the flower are really cool!
Also, in the Tteokguk (Rice cake soup eaten on New Year's Day) posting I mentioned earlier, the white color of the tteok (rice cakes) symbolizes purity and marks a new beginning, encouraing people to let go of the past. Even the simple tradition of eating rice cake soup has the meaning of letting go and moving foward. I like that.
If you have watched the Korean netflix drama, Squid Games, you may have heard about Mugunghwa many times.
It the first game that they play, which is translated into "green lights" and "red lights,"
the actual saying is "무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다= mu gung hwa kkochi pieot sumnida," which means "The rose of Sharon has bloomed."
It is a simple game children often play in Korea.
I will share this youtube clip and you will hear it better!
Now when you hear it next time, you know what it is actually saying and you know 'Mugunghwa!'
Do you know your country's national flower?
I would be interested to know, please leave the comment below!
Comments