Everland’s Rose Festival began in 1985 as Korea’s first flower festival and marks its 37th anniversary this year. Everland will hold its Rose Festival for a month starting May 13. The theme park in Yongin, located about an hour’s drive from Seoul, has held an annual celebration of the flower, the symbol of romance, welcoming many visitors to come and find romance, fall in love, rekindle old flames, or admire the beauty of so many flowers in one place.
This year’s rose festival offers a new experience for customers who go out on outdoor trips by preparing flower-themed flea markets, performances, art exhibitions, and various foods and drinks, as well as flower appreciation.
A “Million Roses”? Many more!
This year, about two hectares (20,000 square meters) of garden is stuffed full of 3 million roses of 720 different varieties. The Everland garden is filled with a variety of roses from around the world, including 24 new varieties of roses developed by Everland, United Kingdom, the United States and France. Together they will all show off their gorgeous blooms and delicate scents, offering healing and a hint of romance to countless visitors.
The roses are not simply on the ground; there are roses in hanging pots along the walking path and unusual photo spots such as floral hot air balloons, cars and phone booths made up of them.
Throughout the garden there are also rose scent zones, where people can breathe in the perfume of the fresh and the sweet, made up of 2 new varieties of Everrose developed at Everland.
Beyond the flowers, the Korea Botanic Artists Association is exhibiting 40 pieces of botanical art, detailed close-up drawings of roses which are so lifelike that they are hard to distinguish from the real flowers. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the Rose Festival, visitors can participate in one-day botanical art classes.
In early June, when rose season peaks, there will be a flower-themed flea market in the Rose Garden. Here, 25 sellers will set up stalls to hawk their wares, including fashion and home items, food, and miscellaneous rose-themed products.
Everland’s own botanical lifestyle brand Florevida will have a pop-up space offering trial samples of 20 new body care products all suffused with Everrose rose scents.
“Everrose,” the special rose of Everland
Everrose is a rose developed by Everland and should be especially noted this year. Everrose is characterized by being resistant to heat and cold and fast-flowering in accordance with the Korean climate, and a total of 24 kinds of Everrose are displayed at the Rose Festival.
In the Rose Garden, which consists of a total of four zones – Venus Zone, Miro Zone, Victoria Zone and Cupid Zone – you can see various roses, including Everrose, especially in Venus Zone, where you can see the winners of world famous competitions.
An official from the resort plant content group said, “At the 2022 Rose Festival, we wanted to expand the planting space of roses developed by Everland to create a rose garden that can only be seen here. As we go through the cold weather in Korea, we have tried not to be damaged by the East Sea continuously, so I hope many people will come,” expressing her affection for Everroses.
It wouldn’t be a festival without food & show
Walking around admiring 3 million roses and taking photos can make a visitor hungry and thirsty, so the various food and beverage offerings will be a welcome sight to many.
At the Rose Garden, you can meet various food booths and food trucks that provide delicious food suitable for outdoor picnics. In addition to food, people who want cool drinks can also taste premium beer or premium ice cream made using the best milk and natural ingredients.
The Rose Festival is also studded with special performances. Acoustic bands are busking in the Rose Garden, singing rose-themed songs as well as children’s favorites. Every Saturday of May there will be Spring Up! Garden Concerts, showcasing the music of young artists. Then on May 28, five teams of young singers and performers will give performances in several genres of music.
Meanwhile, over at the Four Seasons Garden, Everland has nightly shows featuring K-pop group BTS in its Over the Universe multimedia show beginning in April. From now on, Over the Universe will feature a show called Music Lighting Show with songs and music videos by TOMORROW X TOGETHER, SEVENTEEN, and ENHYPEN. Just as with the BTS multimedia shows, special lighting production will harmonize with the music to create a special immersive atmosphere.
More information on the Everland Rose Festival, as well as the theme park itself, can be found on its official website.
