Beartree Park

What began as a bank clerk's hobby, growing orchids with his wife in a small greenhouse after work, has grown over more than half a century into an arboretum of some 330,000 m². At Beartree Park in Jeondong-myeon, Sejong, around 100 Asiatic black bears live among more than 1,000 kinds of flowers and trees, along with spotted deer and peacocks. Because it combines a garden and a small zoo, it is especially popular with families.

From Songpawon in Uiwang to Sejong

The story starts in the early 1960s, when Lee Jae-yeon, then working at a bank, raised orchids in a greenhouse at home. In 1963 he bought land in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, and planted trees he had tracked down all over the country. Watching the pines sway like waves in the wind, he named the garden Songpawon ("garden of pine waves"). In the 1970s he learned sterile culture techniques in Japan and became the first in Korea to mass-produce orchids; at one point most bridal bouquets in the country were made with his flowers. When the Uiwang site was expropriated for apartment development, every tree and animal moved to land he had bought in what is now Sejong. The move took around a thousand truckloads, and the largest trees travelled at dawn to avoid traffic.

The family garden opened to the public on 11 May 2009 under its new name, Beartree Park. The bears arrived in 1981, when the government was encouraging farmers to raise bears for income, but the founder is said to have taken them in mainly to care for animals kept in poor conditions.

What to see

• Bear enclosures: Asiatic black bears and brown bears climbing trees or resting by the water, seen up close.
• Five-colour pond: a pond with a pavilion and bridge, full of koi, framed by pines and maples that change colour with the seasons.
• Junipers and bonsai: carefully clipped round junipers and bonsai, a legacy of the Songpawon years.
• Indoor botanical garden: palms and tropical plants under glass, green even in winter.
• Other animals: spotted deer, peacocks and swans around the grounds, a hit with children.

Spring brings blossom, early summer irises and wildflowers, and autumn bright foliage.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: March–November 09:00–19:00, December–February 10:00–19:00, with Friday to Sunday hours extended to 20:00. Buy your ticket by 18:00 at the latest. The park may close early in bad weather and can shut temporarily in the hottest and coldest weeks.
• Admission (as of October 2026): adults KRW 13,000, teenagers KRW 11,000, children (36 months to primary school) KRW 9,000.
• Not allowed inside: food (drinks and baby food excepted), picnic mats, tripods and pets. Eat your packed lunch at the picnic area by the entrance; inside there are restaurants and a café.
• Time needed: about 2–3 hours at an easy pace.
• Getting there: from Jeonui Station on the Gyeongbu Line it is about 15 minutes on foot or 3 minutes by taxi. City bus 81 from outside the station takes 5 minutes, but it only runs a few times a day, so check the timetable. There is a car park.