Byukchoji Gardens

Byukchoji Gardens in Gwangtan-myeon, Paju, is a private arboretum that brings Eastern and Western garden styles together in one place. Byukchoji Pond, fringed with weeping willows and a pavilion, gives way to a Versailles-style French garden and an Italian water garden, and hundreds of commercials, dramas and music videos have been filmed here. The flower festivals change with the seasons, so many visitors come back more than once.

A garden that grew from one pond

Byukchoji began in 1997 with a shallow pond and a few trees. A founder who loved nature teamed up with a painter who wanted to turn landscaping into art, and in 1999 they started designing and building an arboretum around Byukchoji Pond. After years of preparation it opened in 2005. Today it covers about 120,000 m², with six themed areas and 27 gardens, and it has been named one of Gyeonggi-do's ten most promising tourist attractions.

Walking the gardens

• Queen's Garden: a lavish Western-style flower garden near the entrance, filled with tulips in spring.
• Marly Gate and Garden: pass through the grand gate into the "space of myth", where gardens from a French formal parterre to an Italian water garden tell stories of European gods and heroes.
• Byukchoji Pond and Paryeonjeong Pavilion: the pond that gave the gardens their name, an Eastern-style garden of willows, a stone bridge and a pavilion. The view of the pond as you cross the Musimgyo Bridge is the signature image of the place.
• Yeonhwawon: a lotus pond that blooms in summer, with a walkway across the water so you can see the flowers up close.
• Yew Garden, Garden of Slowness and Garden of Enlightenment: quieter woodland and gardens for a calm stroll after the showier beds.

The route the gardens recommend runs from the Queen's Garden past the Marly Garden, Musimgyo Bridge and Paryeonjeong to the lotus pond and the Garden of Slowness, and takes about 100–120 minutes.

Flower festivals through the year

The gardens hold a festival every season. In 2025 the programme ran from spring flowers and tulips in April–May to delphiniums in May–June, hydrangeas and roses in July–September, chrysanthemums and dahlias in September–November, an autumn garden festival in November and special winter events from December to February. Dates and themes shift a little each year, so check before you go. In winter the pond freezes and the trees are bare, so the gardens look more subdued, but there are far fewer people.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: these change by month: 09:00–18:00 in April and July–October, 09:00–18:30 in May–June, 09:30–17:30 in March and November, and 10:00–17:00 from December to February. Ticket sales and entry end one hour before closing, and the gardens are open every day of the year, including the Seollal and Chuseok holidays.
• Tickets: adults KRW 10,500; teenagers, seniors, visitors with disabilities and national merit holders KRW 8,500; children KRW 7,500; under-36-month-olds free. Paju residents pay KRW 7,000 with ID.
• Not allowed: pets (even in a bag or carrier), picnic mats, balls, bicycles and other sports gear, balloons and large luggage. Food is limited to gimbap, sandwiches, snack bread, prepared fruit and drinks.
• Getting there: from Geumchon Station on the Gyeongui–Jungang Line, village bus 061 takes about 30 minutes. You can also take a taxi from Wollong Station. By car, leave the Jayu-ro expressway at Munbal IC, follow road 56 and switch to road 360 at the Bangchuk junction.
• Photography: personal photos are fine; commercial shoots need to be arranged with the gardens in advance.