Seoul City to Purchase 330,000㎡ of Private Urban Park Land to Create Forest Gardens

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will prioritize purchasing private lands such as hiking trails and walking paths within urban parks to create forest gardens.

Plan for Creating Flower Paths. [Photo by Seoul City]

On the 17th, Seoul announced plans to publicly solicit private land purchase candidates within urban natural park zones and proceed with acquisitions through negotiated purchases, aiming to acquire approximately 330,000㎡ by the end of this year. Urban natural park zones are designated areas within long-term unexecuted urban parks, which are at risk of disappearing due to the enforcement of the 'Long-term Unexecuted Urban Park Expiration System.' These zones are designated as use districts to maintain park functions. In June 2020, the city changed its urban management plan to newly designate 68 locations totaling 69.2㎢ (36.7㎢ of private land).

Through a public solicitation last May, 108 parcels (205,000㎡) within 28 park zones targeted for purchase this year were selected, and the city is currently pursuing acquisition of these parcels with a budget of 82.9 billion KRW. This represents an increase of 67 parcels (77,000㎡), more than 60%, compared to last year's acquisitions. The negotiated purchase candidates for 2024 were publicly solicited for one month from May to June. By the end of this year, after on-site surveys, evaluations, and reviews, the land to be purchased will be finalized in January next year.

The city plans to purchase hiking trails and walking paths that citizens actively use within the acquisition sites in segments. Having completed on-site surveys and measurements for the acquisition sites in the first half of this year, the goal is to complete purchases within the year.

Seoul plans to transform the hiking trails acquired within urban natural park zones into four-season forest gardens, linked to the 'Garden City, Seoul' initiative announced last May.

Existing walking paths and drainage channels, which citizens frequently use but have faced many difficulties in installing even a single wooden staircase due to lawsuits over unjust enrichment claims, will be safely maintained and transformed into forest gardens by planting seasonal flowers. Starting with four locations including the Myeongil Urban Natural Park Zone in Gangdong-gu this year, the project will gradually expand.

The city will continuously secure land within urban natural park zones to connect partially scattered parks and enable citizens to enjoy green spaces such as forests and parks conveniently from anywhere.

Additionally, to create forest gardens that anyone can comfortably and safely enjoy, the city will enhance accessibility and convenience of use with nearby parks and manage them organically and integratively with existing parks.

Yu Young-bong, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Green City Bureau, stated, “Through continuous negotiated purchases, we will ensure that citizens can use urban parks safely and comfortably, while doing our best to lay the foundation for completing ‘Garden City, Seoul,’ where gardens can be found anywhere in the city.”

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