58 Global Gardens in Downtown Seoul, 'Seoul International Garden Expo' Opens

Opening Ceremony on the 14th at Son Gijeong Sports Park, Attended by Mayor Oh Se-hoon... Event Held Until the 20th
Distributed Venues Including Son Gijeong Sports Park, Mallidong Square, and Jungnimdong Area Considering COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The "Seoul International Garden Expo," where visitors can experience unique large and small gardens from around the world in downtown Seoul, will be held until the 20th at Son Ki-jeong Sports Park, Malli-dong Plaza, and the Jungnim-dong area, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 14th.

This year, due to the COVID-19 situation, instead of concentrating the event in one location, the venues are diversified and dispersed so that people can enjoy it within their local living areas near their homes. A total of 58 gardens from 7 countries offer green healing to citizens exhausted by the pandemic. About half of these, 27 gardens, will not be dismantled after the expo but will be maintained as resting places for local residents.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will hold the opening ceremony marking the start of the "Garden Expo" this afternoon at Son Ki-jeong Sports Park. Attendees include Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Kim In-ho, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Seo Yang-ho, Mayor of Jung-gu, Juan Ignacio Moro, Ambassador of Spain to Korea, and Joanna Donabart, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Korea.

The opening ceremony will be held on a small scale with fewer than 50 people in accordance with COVID-19 social distancing guidelines. The program will proceed in the order of Mayor Oh Se-hoon's welcoming speech, congratulatory remarks by Kim In-ho, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, and Seo Yang-ho, Mayor of Jung-gu, followed by the awards ceremony for the garden contest. Visitors will also tour the artist gardens and pop-up gardens created within Son Ki-jeong Sports Park.

Son Ki-jeong Sports Park was reopened last October as a space for runners after about two years of construction. It features the "Son Ki-jeong Memorial Hall," which comprehensively exhibits Olympic laurel wreaths and related artifacts and videos used by athlete Son Ki-jeong, the "Running Running Center," a hub space for runners, a running track for nearby residents, and a children's library.

This year's "Garden Expo" is held both online and offline under the theme "Link Garden, Think Life." Notably, for the first time, the participating artists for the "Artist Gardens," which were previously centered on domestic artists, were selected through an international competition, aiming to elevate the event to an international level.

Offline, visitors can experience ▲ "Overseas Invitation Gardens" presented by world-renowned landscape architect Andrew Grant ▲ "Artist Gardens" featuring artists from 7 countries both domestic and abroad ▲ "Neighborhood Gardens" created by local gardeners ▲ "World Family Gardens" designed by foreign families residing in Seoul. Online programs include ▲ "Garden Industry Exhibition," with participation from over 100 domestic garden-related companies ▲ "Seoul Garden Map," where citizens recommend and share hidden gardens throughout Seoul. Participation is available through the official website. Video records of garden works and the garden creation process are also released on YouTube.

In particular, the "Garden Industry Exhibition" has moved online instead of setting up booths in large venues as before. Amid growing interest in home decoration due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, visitors can get an overview of domestic garden industry trends through about 600 products from over 100 companies. The "Garden Expo" was originally planned for October last year but was postponed to May this year due to the continuation of COVID-19 social distancing level 2.5. The Seoul Metropolitan Government decided to complete the garden installations prepared since last year to provide emotional stability and healing to citizens fatigued by the prolonged pandemic through garden experiences in the city.

Meanwhile, since the first event in 2015, Seoul has been hosting the "Seoul Garden Expo" to promote garden culture in daily life and activate the garden industry. Through the five expos held from 2015 to 2019, 64 experimental artist gardens were showcased, and 341 citizen participation gardens created by citizens themselves were established. The event attracted a total of 4.06 million visitors by offering various attractions.

Choi Yoon-jong, Director of the Green City Bureau, said, "We hope that the Seoul International Garden Expo, where visitors can experience green gardens of various sizes and garden cultures from around the world, will provide some comfort and healing to citizens exhausted by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic," adding, "We also expect this to be an opportunity for Seoul's garden culture and landscaping industry to expand globally."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.