The national flower of Korea is called the Mugungwha (무궁화) and in English is known as the Rose of Sharon or maybe Hibiscus. This flower blooms most of the summer through the muggiest months of the this flower still spreads bright cheer.
It's name "the rose of Sharon" sounds like a rose but it is not even a rose at all. It is also called a lily or crocus. Mow I will give one more name just to make everything more complicated. I will call it by its Korean name, "Mugungwha."
The name "mugungwha" sticks with me because the first year I came to Korea I heard kids playing a game with the same word "Mugungwha". There is a children's game in Korea called 무궁화 꽃 이 피었 습니다 (Mugunghwa kkoci pieot seumnida). It's very similar to the American game called "Red Light, Green Light". Kindergarten and early Elementary school students still love to play this game, but sometimes cheat.
This Mugungwha flower earned its own patriotic song in Korea that is almost as well known as the national anthem. During Japanese occupation of Korea this flower was the symbol of Korean independence so although the song is a children's song it is a folk song held dear to the heart to many Koreans.
무궁화 무궁화 우리나라꽃
mu-gung-hwa mu-gung-hwa u-li-na-la-kkot-
삼천리 강산에 우리나라꽃
sam-cheon-li gang-san-e u-li-na-la-kkot-
피었네 피었네 우리나라꽃
pi-eot-ne pi-eot-ne u-li-na-la-kkot-
삼천리 강산에 우리나라꽃
sam-cheon-li gang-san-e u-li-na-la-kkot-
무궁화 무궁화 우리나라꽃
mu-gung-hwa mu-gung-hwa u-li-na-la-kkot-
삼천리 강산에 우리나라꽃
sam-cheon-li gang-san-e u-li-na-la-kkot-
무궁화 무궁화 우리나라꽃 영어로
My English Version:
Mugunghwa Mugunghwa, Flower of Korea
Flower of the Korean peninsula and golden mountains
Blooming Blooming, Flower of Korea
Flower of the Korean peninsula and golden mountains
Mugunghwa Mugunghwa Korean flower
Flower of the Korean peninsula and golden mountains
In the Songs of Solomon 2:1 the beloved says to his lover:
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.
Isaiah 35:1 speaks of the coming of the Messiah like a lily in the desert. This may also be the Rose of Sharon
Let the wilderness and desert be happy; let the arid rift valley rejoice and bloom like a lily!
Original Poem @mineopoly
Mugungwha
Achacia trees from a distant Island
Planted in a row
Leech the native soil
An oppressor's yoke weighs heavy on the trees
Devastated by man's iniquities
Set free by a new seed
The blossom of freedom opens
The trumpet petals blast a proclamation of independence
The white of the flower washes the sin of a nation
The stigma points to a new direction of life
The honey bee finds nectar in the Mugungwha
The Rose of Sharon
The Lilly of the Valley
The Bright and Morning Star Shines
In a flower
In a game
In a song
In mugungwha in a row
Like a passenger train
All pictures in this post are from my own camera except the train picture edited by @mineopoly.
Enjoy the Ride,
Love,