#8 - “Cherry Blossom Ending (벚꽃 엔딩)". Busker Busker (버스커 버스커), 2012
A Story of the Song...Story behind the Song by Angel Xim-Yeng Choong (Monash University)
오늘은 우리 같이 걸어요 이 거리를 | Today let’s walk together on this street As the spring wind blows |
Have you ever heard the Korean springtime version of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”?
Over the years, Cherry Blossom Ending (벚꽃 엔딩) has gained the title of “Spring Carol”, “Cherry Blossom Zombie” and “Cherry Blossom Pension” as it undoubtedly rises on the South Korean music charts every spring season.
Released on March 29, 2012, Cherry Blossom Ending was performed Busker Busker, a South Korean indie band and the song was written by one of the band’s guitarist, vocalist and songwriter, Jang Beom Jun. The song is an alternative rock ballad performed with the combination of vocals, acoustic guitars, keyboard, and drums, with a melodica adding a distinct sound. Cherry Blossom Ending sings about wanting to walk hand in hand with someone special in a cherry blossom-filled street.
Figure 1. Busker Busker members playing the song under a cherry blossom tree in the MV. Image source: YouTube
In the bustling South Korean music industry, it is an incredible feat to stay at the top of music charts for less than 24 hours, so it is even more bizarre for a song released years ago to continue climbing the ranks every year. While other seasonal songs such as “Not Spring, Love, or Cherry Blossoms” (HIGH4 and IU) and “What the Spring” (10CM) are also largely successful spring songs, Cherry Blossom Ending manages to climb the chart every year.
According to the Gaon Chart (Circle Chart), Cherry Blossom Ending was ranked second on the 2012 year-end digital chart and had 3,399,202 downloads in 2012 alone.. It was also reported from Mnet, that for 9 years since Mnet started operating in 2006, Cherry Blossom Ending had the highest number of streams and downloads from their site. [The song continues to re-enter the music charts at the beginning of every spring, however it charted poorly in 2020 due to COVID-19, along with other usual popular spring songs. Despite this as of November 2021, Cherry Blossom Ending surpassed 8 million downloads as reported on the Gaon Charts. In 2022, 60% of 10,798 online voters on a mobile application CRATOS chose Cherry Blossom Ending as their favourite spring song out of 4 popular songs.
In 2015, it was reported that the songwriter, Jang Bum Joon has made over 4.6 billion won from the song’s royalties over the first four year’s since it’s release. From the song’s profits, it was reported on an episode of tvN’s “The List 2015” that the songwriter bought a building in Daechi-dong, Gangnam, with the song’s profits. This resulted in the nickname of “Cherry Blossom Pension” for the song.
Figure 2. Cherry Blossom Ending (벚꽃 엔딩) ranking on the Gaon/Circle Chart’s 2012 yearly digital charts.
Image source: Circle Chart Korea.
바람 불면 울렁이는 | When the wind blows, |
The lyrics of Cherry Blossom Ending perfectly emulates the affectionate feelings one feels when in love. At Busker Busker’s showcase at Yeongdeungpo’s Time Square in 2012, Jang Bum Joon said that the song “contains the wishful thinking of men” and was a song “a guy would pen while thinking about the woman he wanted to walk under the cherry blossoms in spring with.” The song was composed with his personal feelings and emotions.
So why does Cherry Blossom Ending remain so popular every year?
Many Korean music industry experts and critics attributed the popularity of this seasonal song to different reasons. Famous South Korean composer, Brave Brothers said that the song has become the emblematic song for the spring seasons as it “brings out some nostalgia and makes listeners comfortable.”. Pop culture critic, Kang Tae Gyu said that through Cherry Blossom Ending, “people were reminded of the love that passed them by around this time last year”.
Another culture critic, Kim Heon Sik, expressed that the reason why Cherry Blossom Ending became a hit seasonal song was because it “includes objects and symbols that the public expects from the season instead of talking about the season itself.” This can be seen through cherry blossoms as a central theme, mentions of the spring wind and the concept of budding love in spring, the season of new beginnings. Kim Heon Sik also added that “the song’s contrasting melodies and lyrics are contributors to its success.”. As the melody is cheerful and upbeat, the lyrics can be viewed as sad, as the man is wishfully yearning to be with the one he loves.
Cherry Blossom Ending is also highly regarded by other artists and producers in the Korean music industry. Several musicians have also performed renditions of the song such as ZE:A X Five, Kim Jae Hwan, IU, and Sungha Jung just to name a few.
With such a sweet melody and heartfelt lyrics no wonder Cherry Blossom Ending remains a fan favourite every spring season.
Watch the official music video of 벚꽃 엔딩 here.
Find the lyrics and English translation of the song here.
Angel Xim-Yeng Choong ©, please do not reproduce without prior permission.