Crape myrtles are known as colorful and long-lasting flowers. They are called baek-il-hong in Korean, meaning red flower for one hundred days. Today, I’ll tell you how the flower got this name in Korean folklore.

A long time ago, there lived a young man and a young woman in a small fishing village. Both were hardworking people, and the two were in love with each other. They were happily waiting for an auspicious day when they promised to marry.

Unfortunately, the seaside village held a dreadful ritual every year. A young maiden was offered to a three-headed sea serpent as a human sacrifice. Otherwise, disaster would hit the entire village. It was brutal to sacrifice a living person, but there was no other choice. There had to be a victim every year. So, parents of young girls were always worried about their daughters.

One year, the young woman who was supposed to get married soon was picked as the victim. Stunned and frustrated, the girl and her fiancé cried and even thought about escaping the village together. But they couldn’t do so for fear that the whole village would suffer a massive disaster. The man was then determined to fight the sea monster to rescue his woman and his village as well. Other brave people in the village who shared his opinion decided to join him in the battle. On the day of their departure, all the villagers came to see them off, praying that the young warriors would kill the monster and return home safe and sound. The girl was also there, of course, shedding tears. The man solemnly said to her, “If I defeat the beast, I’ll have a white flag on board my ship. If a red flag is flying, that would mean I failed.” With these words, he boarded a ship with his companions. The ship soon sailed out into the rough sea.

From that day on, the girl went to the shore every day and prayed for his safe return. Since the group of men went out to fight the monster, fishermen in the village could fish peacefully in the safe water. Days and weeks passed. The girl never left the beach, rain or shine. Finally, the ship came into sight, exactly 100 days after it set out. The maiden was filled with emotion. From a distance, she tried very hard to figure out the color of the ship’s flag. As the ship was nearing land, she saw it had… a red flag. Remembering what her fiancé said before he left, she collapsed. After enduring that long, exhausting wait, it was too much for her to bear. Stricken by fatigue, sorrow, and despair, the poor girl died before the ship reached the shore.

But what happened? When the ship arrived, her fiancé ran to the shore. He was frantically looking for his beloved girl, only to find her body, still warm. When he was told that the girl died after seeing the red flag, he looked at the ship. He had not realized that the white flag was smeared with the crimson blood of the sea monster that he had killed. All he could think about was sailing fast towards land to deliver the good news to the villagers and the girl. He beat his chest in grief, but it was too late.

He and village people buried her in a sunny spot on the top of the hill overlooking the sea. Later, strange flowers bloomed at her grave. The beautiful red flowers blossomed for 100 days before withering away. People believed that the flower was the spirit of the poor girl who waited for her fiancé for 100 days, and then died. Ever since then, they’ve called it “red flower for one hundred days.”