Are there any South Koreans that can give me info on the Rose of Sharon (Moogoonghwa)?

Why is it the national flower of South Korea?





Your historical information would be helpful for my FLOWER BLOG http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-Bb8S3XAye...





Thank you :)

Are there any South Koreans that can give me info on the Rose of Sharon (Moogoonghwa)?
"According to records, Koreans have treasured the rose of Sharon as a heavenly flower since ancient times. In fact, the Silla Kingdom called itself Mugunghwa Country. Even the ancient Chinese referred to Korea as "The land of gentlemen where Mugunghwa blooms." Love for the flower was further heightened when Mugunghwa samcheolli hwaryeo gangsan" ("Rose of Sharon, thousand miles of beautiful mountain and river land!") was written into the national anthem of the late "19th century. As the rose of Sharon has been an important part of the Korean culture for centuries, it was only natural that the government adopted it as the national flower after Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule." (link 1)





"In Korea, the Rose of Sharon (mugunghwa or Hibiscus syriacus) is the historical symbol of the present and historic Yi Dynasty Korean royal family, and figures throughout domestic and royal architectural elements, particularly in roof tiles." (link 2)





"It is no coincidence that the mugunghwa is Korea's national flower. China's oldest geography book Shanhaijing (The Classic of the Mountains and the Seas) contains the following mention: "In the land of gunja (gentlemen), there is a flower called hunhwacho, which blooms in the morning and dies at night." Gunja, meaning "gentleman," refers to Korea and hunhwacho refers to the mungunghwa. The flower is also often mentioned in Korean history texts, according to which the kingdom of Silla (57 B.C. - A.D. 935) called itself Geunhwahyang, which means "country of mugunghwa." This means the mugunghwa was the national flower from the time of Silla. Yi Gyu-bo's Dongguk Isanggukjip (Collected Works of Minister Yi) from late Goryeo, contains an argument over whether "mugung" should be expressed in Chinese characters as "無窮" meaning infinite, or "無宮" which meant that it overshadowed even the palace. This shows that the name "mugunghwa" existed in the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). In a poem by the Joseon poet Yu Mong-in there is a line that says, "The man's face was as handsome as the mugunghwa." All of these references indicate that from long ago in the past our ancestors had planted and admired the flower." (link 3)