Busan City Registers and Announces Busan Nakdong River Regional Garden No. 1

Four Thematic Zones: Migratory Birds, People, Sharing, and Wildlife

Busan's First and Korea's Largest Development and Operation Plan

As the first and largest "Nakdong River Local Garden" in Busan is created in the Samnak Riverside area, it has taken a step closer to being designated as the Nakdong River National Garden.

Busan Nakdong River Regional Garden Plan (Draft).

On the 1st, Busan City announced that it will register and officially announce the 2.5 million㎡ riverbed area in the Samnak Riverside area as the first Busan Nakdong River Local Garden.

The site is national land (Ministry of Environment) located in Samnak-dong, Sasang-gu.

This area was formerly used as farmland but was restored to function as a migratory bird habitat by creating natural waterways, wetlands, protected forests, natural grasslands, and walking trails through the Nakdong River Restoration Project (Dec 2009?Oct 2016).

The registration of the Nakdong River Local Garden aims to utilize the excellent natural resources of the restored Samnak Riverside, such as reeds, wetlands, and natural green spaces, to promote garden culture, tourism, leisure in Busan, expand the garden industry, and establish and develop garden culture in daily life.

The requirements for local garden registration include a site area of at least 100,000㎡, with at least 40% of the area being green space. Additionally, it must have a themed garden, a dedicated garden organization, professional managers, and meet internal quality and operational management evaluation standards.

To achieve this registration, the city not only established evaluation criteria last year but also enacted the Busan City Ordinance on the Creation and Promotion of Gardens in July last year and completed consultations with 14 related agencies, including the Ministry of Environment, Cultural Heritage Administration, and Korea Forest Service, by the first half of this year.

Furthermore, in June, the city finalized the registration process by announcing the local garden site (2023-1897) and undergoing review by the Busan Local Garden Registration Review Committee.

Reflecting the existing natural resources and migratory bird habitats, the city plans to divide the first Busan Nakdong River Local Garden into four themed zones?Migratory Birds, People, Sharing, and Wildlife?and develop and operate the garden accordingly.

In winter, the garden will serve as a feeding ground for migratory birds, while from spring to autumn, various seasonal flower beds will be created for public use.

Additionally, the garden’s Gamjeon wildflower area will be used as a space for experiential and garden education, and the protected forest green area will be developed as a participatory garden maintained by citizens.

Along the riverside at the upper part of Samnak Riverside, an ecological cultural trail will be created, with a riverside garden for walking and experiences, and along the waterways, the city plans to establish the Gaetbeodeul Garden and Reed Garden.

The city intends to nurture and operate the first Busan Nakdong River Local Garden as a garden where migratory birds and people coexist for more than three years, then promote its designation as the first and largest Nakdong River National Garden in Korea.

Currently, there are two national gardens operating in Korea: Suncheon Bay National Garden (No. 1, 926,000㎡, designated in September 2015) and Taehwa River National Garden (No. 2, 835,000㎡, designated in July 2019).

To apply for national garden designation, the Garden Act requires a garden area of at least 300,000㎡, with at least five themed gardens. Also, a dedicated garden organization and professional managers must be in place, the local garden must have been operated for more than three years after registration, and it must meet the Korea Forest Service’s garden quality and operational management evaluation standards.

Accordingly, the city established a dedicated national garden team within the Busan Nakdong River Management Headquarters (as of July 5, 2023) to exclusively manage the first Busan Nakdong River Local Garden.

In addition, in September last year, Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun personally visited Suncheon City and signed a business agreement with the Suncheon Mayor to strengthen policy cooperation by sharing know-how on themed gardens and operational methods of Suncheon Bay National Garden for the designation of the Nakdong River National Garden.

Along with this, the city is preparing a basic plan (draft) for a national garden where migratory birds and people coexist and will continue consultations with related agencies such as the Korea Forest Service, Ministry of Environment, and Cultural Heritage Administration for the designation of the Busan Nakdong River National Garden.

Taking this opportunity to promote the designation of the Busan Nakdong River National Garden, the city plans to actively pursue related infrastructure projects to promote balanced development in the western Busan area.

To reduce environmental impacts from the construction of the Daejeo Bridge passing over the upper part of the local garden, a large-scale ecological wetland will be created and developed as a representative space of the Nakdong River National Garden.

Additionally, the city will improve access roads to the local garden and establish tourist centers and eco-friendly transportation to enhance convenience for domestic and international tourists, providing a high-quality garden viewing environment.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun emphasized, “With the birth of the first and largest Nakdong River Local Garden in Busan in the Samnak Riverside area, we have taken a step closer to the designation of the Nakdong River National Garden. We will diligently cultivate and operate the Nakdong River Local Garden for more than three years while thoroughly preparing the basic plan (draft) for the national garden designation. We will continue to proceed without setbacks in the process of designating the Nakdong River National Garden.”

He added, “We will actively discover rooftop gardens, participatory gardens, and private gardens to revitalize garden culture, change the paradigm of garden policies closely linked to citizens’ lives, and do our best to create a garden city nurtured together with citizens, making Busan a city where people want to live again.”

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