The beauty offered by the camellia tree does not end with its flowers.

The beauty of the camellia tree does not end with its flowers.
It is true that when people think of camellia trees, the flowers come to mind first. But the flowers are not everything.

(The studio yard with pretty fallen camellia blossoms, 2025)

Living in a region where camellia trees are abundant, encountering them is quite effortless. Because of this, after taking emotional, snap-happy photos of the pretty blooming flowers, deleting them without saving became a daily routine. Yet, there are times when I still find myself regretting those deleted photos. Moments like this—when it is still too early for the camellias to bloom, yet the subtle, hazy beauty of the blossoms lingers in my mind. Today is just one of those days.

Things I Learned While Creating the Camellia Research Institute Website

It was quite a while ago, but while building the website for the Camellia Research Institute, I learned that the sheer variety of camellia trees is truly astonishing. Upon searching, I found there are around 330 species of camellias. Granted, I suppose it makes sense since I began noticing various types of camellia flowers myself at some point, but the variety was far beyond my imagination.

The camellia seen in the photo is likely not the traditional camellia we used to see, but rather one of the prettily blooming varieties featuring a rose-like shape.

Having watched this camellia tree for nearly 10 years now, it has grown so remarkably tall that it has reached above the roof.

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Whenever I pass by as if forgetting the seasons, it suddenly greets me with a bright smile, looking like someone in neat, elegant hanbok, gently covering strikingly alluring red lips with a hand.

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It makes my heart flutter.

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At the same time, it feels wondrous and deeply touching.

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How can such starkly contrasting light red flower buds emerge from amidst green leaves?

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A poignant emotion washes over me...

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To think we can witness such touching and beautiful sights for only a few days...
Truly beautiful yet heartbreaking.

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It is such a pity.
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If such a brief meeting is going to leave behind such a long-lasting yearning and lingering resonance, it shouldn't have peeked out with that bashful face in the first place...

To have to wait another whole year just to meet that welcoming and touching beauty again...
When we meet again, will I still have this kind of affectionate, leisurely mindset?
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Time flows without a trace, and memories steadily grow faint.
What I want to hold onto slips away into the distant past, and before I know it, I live in the present calmly and with a detached heart.

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How wonderful it would be if we could always live with a beautiful heart, just like the excitement and emotion brought by a single photo of bright red camellia blossoms!

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As time passes and I grow increasingly accustomed to solitude, there are moments when things of the past approach me as precious and beautiful.
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Though I cannot capture everything in paintings...
Past days when I tried to capture the beauty of camellia flowers, filling the canvas, flash before my eyes like a revolving door.
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This season, I must surely find a place full of smiling camellias and paint those heart-fluttering emotions onto a pure white canvas.


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