It's known as one of the earliest messengers of spring in South Korea: the yellow freesia.
While almost all of these flowers used to be imported just ten years ago, nearly 60-percent are now grown here in South Korea.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Even before the forsythia and the azalea,... this is the flower that truly signals the start of spring.... It's the yellow freesia flower.
It's a flower that's popular among students and their families during the graduation season in South Korea.

There are a lot of people looking for freesia these days. It's mostly because it's graduation season and the flower's scent signals the start of spring.

However, just ten years ago, all freesia flowers in South Korea were imported.
With most coming all the way from the Netherlands, prices used to be quite high.
Now, thanks to the development of domestic varieties,... the amount of freesia grown domestically has risen to nearly 60 percent.
Known as 'gold rich', the flowers' popularity in Korea has never been so high.

The color is more beautiful than those from overseas. They are very popular because the flowers are big and thick.

The cultivation period of domestic freesia is shorter than other varieties by about ten days.
With the shorter cultivation period,... Korea's Rural Development Administration hopes to achieve a domestic penetration rate of 80 percent in the near future.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.