Record-Breaking Garden Connecting Seoul Forest to Seongsu... Oh Sehoon: "Largest Scale Event for 180 Days"

Mayor Oh Announces Opening of Seoul International Garden Expo
Goal of 15 Million Visitors... Widespread Participation from Artists and Companies
"A New Milestone for 'Garden City Seoul'"

Starting next month, a 90,000-square-meter garden will be created across Seoul from Seoul Forest to the Han River, Seongsu, and Konkuk University Entrance for a period of 180 days. Numerous companies, including Musinsa and Nongshim, are participating, and specialized spaces combining elements of Korean culture will also be established.

Habin Construction participated in the "2026 Seoul International Garden Expo," which opens on the 1st of next month, with the work titled "Shyness of the Crown" by garden artist Jihae Hwang. Provided by Seoul City

On April 22, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon held a press conference and announced that the '2026 Seoul International Garden Expo' will take place around Seoul Forest from May 1 to October 27. The pure garden area covers 90,000 square meters, making it the largest event ever with 167 gardens, and will be held for the longest period of 180 days. This area is 7.5 times larger than the 12,000 square meters at Ttukseom Hangang Park in 2024, and 4.5 times larger than the 20,000 square meters at Boramae Park last year. The Seoul Metropolitan Government expects to surpass last year’s record of 10 million visitors and attract more than 15 million people.

This expo is not limited to Seoul Forest, but connects a roughly 10-kilometer stretch as a linear garden from the Han River riverside and Seongsu-dong all the way to Gwangjin-gu. To achieve this, since November last year, Seoul has worked with Seongdong-gu and Gwangjin-gu to create street gardens, planter boxes, bridge landscape features, and promotional signage in the pedestrian areas along Wangsimni-ro and Achasan-ro.

The garden exhibition features a wide range of participants, from world-renowned masters to ordinary citizens, domestic and international artists, as well as companies and organizations. The 'Garden Under the Flowing Forest' by French landscape architect Henri Bava, an invited international artist, is located on the east side of the Seoul Forest lawn plaza, while 'The Garden of Waiting' by Korean landscape architect Lee Namjin, CEO of BYRON, is established within the Seongsu Handmade Shoe Park.

Linear garden created at Exit 5 of Seoul Forest Station. Provided by Seoul City

Donation gardens created by major construction companies such as Daewoo Engineering & Construction, GS Engineering & Construction, IPARK Hyundai Development Company, and Hoban Construction have been established around the central lawn plaza of Seoul Forest. Hoban Construction participated with the work 'Shyness of the Crown' by garden artist Jihae Hwang, while IPARK Hyundai Development Company introduced a landmark called 'Breathing Land' in collaboration with advertising creator Lee Jaeseok.

Around the pond, another attraction of Seoul Forest, themed gardens have been created with participation from Sampyo, Youngpoong Bookstore, the Life Insurance Social Contribution Committee, Chungju City, and Ulsan City. Along the southern circular path of the pond, specialized spaces blending K-culture have also been established, with Clio (beauty), Musinsa (fashion), Nongshim (food), and the National Heritage Administration (traditional culture) taking part. At the entrance to Seoul Forest, the Korea Racing Authority created the 'Horse Garden - Forest Starting Line,' presenting a space around the equestrian statue that reflects the history and symbolism of Seoul Forest. The total annual carbon absorption of these gardens is estimated at 5,630 tons, equivalent to the annual emissions of 1,759 cars.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has partnered with Chungcheongnam-do to spread garden culture nationwide. On this day, Mayor Oh and Kim Taeheum, Governor of Chungcheongnam-do, signed a business agreement for the successful hosting of both the '2026 Seoul International Garden Expo' and the '2026 Taean International Horticultural Healing Expo.' Mayor Oh stated, "In addition to our cooperation with Taean, I hope this enriched Seoul Forest Garden Expo will set a new milestone for 'Garden City Seoul,' loved by people around the world and surpassing 10 million visitors."

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