By Dressed all in purple, bent-over women held long rakes aloft as they walked in a line to a lavender field to carry out some pruning on an island in southwest South Korea.
Inspired by their native balloon flower, residents of the Banwol and Bakji Islands, known as the ‘Purple Islands’, have painted their houses, roads and bridges in shades of the hue, and planted purple flowers such as lavender and asters to transform their town into a tourist attraction.
“Old people like us have a secluded life here, since all the young people left the town,” said villager Shin Deok-im, 79, who has lived on Bakji island for more than 60 years.
“I’m glad to see young people and kids visiting to see our town. They are all like my grandchildren.”
The tiny, tranquil islands have a little over a hundred residents and were picked for a tourism project supported by the government.
