Everland's rose festival draws 200,000 visitors in first 10 days

Everland, operated by Samsung C&T's resort division, said Sunday that about 200,000 visitors attended its rose festival in the 10 days since it opened on May 22. The Rose Garden is currently at 90 percent bloom, with peak flowering expected this week.

This year's festival, which runs through June 21, features 3 million roses across 720 varieties and debuted a new European classic hotel garden concept called "Hotel Rose Garden Royal High Tea."

The theme combines roses with fragrance, lighting, music and artwork to evoke the feeling of a leisurely afternoon in a storybook hotel garden.

Throughout the Rose Garden, visitors can explore a range of rose-themed experiences, including hands-on encounters with EverRose, a line of homegrown varieties developed exclusively by Everland. The park launched its domestic garden rose development project in 2013 and has since cultivated more than 40 EverRose varieties, earning recognition through awards at international rose competitions and overseas expansion.

At Rose Lab, an experience space designed around the concept of a rose research institute, visitors can take home scent strips infused with the subtle fragrances of four EverRose varieties.

Also drawing crowds is Roji, a fragrance-delivery butler robot that roams the Rose Garden. At set intervals, Roji makes its rounds from Rose Lab to the Rose Garden gate and Rose Castle, greeting visitors along the way.

An online-offline event running throughout the festival invites visitors to view unreleased EverRose varieties and vote for their favorites. The variety that receives the most votes will be given a new name, and participants will receive Som Points redeemable as cash at Everland.

After dark, the festival takes on a different character, with soft garden lighting illuminating the grounds. At the center of the garden, a Purple Rose Zone adorned with violet blooms and a roughly 3-meter chandelier photo installation create a romantic atmosphere reminiscent of a European hotel ballroom.

A jazz band performs daily against the backdrop of the blooming rose garden, drawing visitors in throughout the day.

Rose-themed food and merchandise round out the festival experience. More than 20 new products are available, including a fennec fox plush toy, a Lui Hui cushion, a Hotel Rose Garden parasol and homewear items.

"The roses in the Rose Garden are expected to reach their most spectacular peak starting this week," an Everland official said. "We hope visitors will come and fully enjoy the romantic atmosphere that unfolds from day to night, surrounded by fragrant roses."