Monday, January 14, 2008

은행이 익었을 때

Kaye said that for a few weeks in autumn, the air out in the street smell extremely awful. The culprit of the foul air is quite unexpectedly the ginkgo trees. I could not imagine how bad the smell was until I came across a heritage ginkgo tree beside Changdeokgung. Thousands of rotting ginkgoes were still hanging from the tree branches. The stench given off by the rotting ginkgoes ensure that I kept a safe distance from it. I was fortunate as there was only one of such tree in the area. Imagine the "knock-out punch" delivered by all the rotting ginkgoes in the streets during autumn. However, as a redemption for fouling up the air, ginkgo trees leave behind beautiful yellow fan-shaped leaves. Autumn in Korea will be very different without ginkgo trees.

2 comments:

  1. 噢,真的是这样的吗?原来好几年前我在国外遇见的美丽银杏叶雨有这么一个转换过程,感觉就好像“若非一番寒彻骨,哪得梅花扑鼻香”:D

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  2. 这世界是公平的。世间的美与丑总是相辅相成的。未经一番臭扑鼻,焉知银杏之美味,大概也就是这个意思吧。

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