Seoul Botanic Park

It was a long time since I took you for the digital trips around South Korea. But I will do my best to show you Korea more often.

Today we will go to the Seoul Botanic Park that is located in Seoul.

Park History

The idea of building the Botanic park in Seoul was born in 2007. The project was a winner of the International Waterfront Competition. It took around 12 years to plan, design, get necessary approvals.

The official opening of the Seoul Botanic Park was on May 1st, 2019. 

In 2019 the park won a Korea Landscape Architecture Award.

About Seoul Botanic Park

Source

There are 5 zones in the park: Open Forest, Lake Garden, and Wetland which are open all year round. And the 4th zone is a Botanic Garden that consists of Greenhouse and Theme Gardens.

I have been to the park several times, and the last time was last weekend. Unfortunately, outdoors was like winter yet. Trees are naked, and flowers are still sleeping.

However, Botanic Garden that is located indoors is amazing 365 days a year. The entry fee to the Greenhouse and Theme Garden is 5,000 KRW or around $4.5 per person. The Outdoors area is free, so you can see many people who are walking or doing a workout there.

Before going inside the Greenhouse I want briefly tell you about other areas and halls. I think there is no museum in Korea where you won't find digital gadgets, cafes, etc.

So, there are permanent and special exhibition halls, cafe, library, conference and lecture halls, and many other facilities. 

Special Exhibition Hall

I was impressed by the special exhibition hall because it was a well-planned smart zone. And I think even kids will be interested in that zone. What you will choose to learn botanic through boring books or through interactive programs?

Just imagine, you enter the room but projectors reflect on the walls a forest, tropics, or other parts of nature. And if you put your hand on some parts of the wall, the details about that plant will pop up. That is a special exhibition hall. I wanted to record a video, but the place was crowded with kids who were having fun by 'touching' the wall.

Permanent Exhibition Hall

The permanent exhibition hall tells about different plants and seeds, and their origin. There are smart exhibitions as well. Some exhibitions had a transparent touch screen. Beside the screen was a plant and all information about that plant was on screen.

Greenhouse

Okay, now let's go inside the garden. I don't think that any words are required here. The greenhouse is horticulture with Mediterranean and tropical climates. Different plants from different countries.

And only plants themselves impress visitors but also the way they are presented. It is like a perfectly designed world.

The Seoul Botanic Park reminded me how beautiful and magical nature is. 

The park is open every day, except Mondays, from 9:30 to 6 PM.

Location: 812 Magok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul

Official website: https://botanicpark.seoul.go.kr/