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

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

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

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On April 22, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon held a press conference and announced that the “2026 Seoul International Garden Expo” will take place in the Seoul Forest area from May 1 to October 27. The net garden creation area is 90,000 square meters, making it the largest event ever with 167 gardens, and it will also run for the longest period of 180 days. The area is 7.5 times larger than the 12,000 square meters of Ttukseom Hangang Park in 2024 and 4.5 times larger than last year's 20,000 square meters at Boramae Park. The Seoul Metropolitan Government expects visitor numbers to exceed last year’s record of 10 million and reach over 15 million.

This expo is not limited to Seoul Forest; it connects a linear garden stretching approximately 10 kilometers, running along the Han River’s riverside, through Seongsu-dong, and extending to Gwangjin-gu. To achieve this, since November last year, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has worked with Seongdong-gu and Gwangjin-gu to create street gardens, planter boxes, bridge landscaping, and promotional signage along pedestrian zones in Wangsimni-ro and Achasan-ro.

The garden exhibition features broad participation, including world-renowned masters, ordinary citizens, domestic and international artists, companies, and organizations. “Garden Under the Flowing Forest” by French landscape architect Henri Bava, an invited overseas artist, is installed on the east side of the Seoul Forest lawn plaza. “Garden of Waiting” by Namjin Lee, a domestic invited landscape architect and CEO of Byron, is located inside the Seongsu Handmade Shoe Park.

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

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Major construction companies such as Daewoo Engineering & Construction, GS Engineering & Construction, Hyundai Development Company IPARK, and Hoban Construction have established “donation gardens” around the central lawn plaza of Seoul Forest. Hoban Construction participated with “Shyness of the Crown,” a work by garden artist Jihae Hwang, and Hyundai Development Company IPARK introduced a landmark called “Breathing Land” with the participation of advertising creator Jesuck Lee.

A variety of themed gardens have also been created around another key attraction of Seoul Forest, the pond, with participation from Sampyo, Youngpoong Bookstore, the Social Contribution Foundation for Life Insurance, Chungju City, Ulsan City, and others. Along the southern circular path of the pond, specialized spaces have been established incorporating K-culture, such as Clio (beauty), Musinsa (fashion), Nongshim (food), and the Cultural Heritage Administration (traditional culture). At the entrance to Seoul Forest, the Korea Racing Authority has created the “Horse Garden-Starting Line of the Forest” around the equestrian statue, offering a space that reflects the history and symbolism of Seoul Forest. The annual carbon absorption of these newly created gardens has been calculated to be 5,630 tons, equivalent to the annual emissions of 1,759 cars.

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government partnered with South Chungcheong Province to spread garden culture nationwide. On this day, Mayor Oh and Governor Kim Tae-heum of South Chungcheong Province signed a work agreement to ensure 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 win-win partnership with Taean, I hope that this enriched Seoul Forest Garden Expo will set a new milestone for 'Garden City Seoul,' loved worldwide by surpassing ten million visitors.”

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