Seoul Botanic Park

Seoul Botanic Park, opened in May 2019 in Magok, Gangseo-gu, combines a botanical garden with a public park. It covers 504,000 m², about the size of 70 football pitches, and most of it is a park you can walk around for free; only the greenhouse and themed gardens charge admission. Thanks to its huge greenhouse, where you can walk among tropical plants even in midwinter, it is one of Seoul's best rain-or-shine outings.

Four zones

The park is divided into the Open Forest, Themed Garden, Lake Garden and Wetland Garden. It was modelled on the Eden Project in England and Singapore Botanic Gardens, and as well as displaying plants it conserves and researches endangered native species.

• Themed Garden: the paid area, with the greenhouse, eight outdoor themed gardens and the Botanic Center. Each garden, such as the Wind Garden, Memory Garden or Healing Garden, is planted around its own idea.
• Lake Garden: paths follow a broad lake, and from higher ground you see the water and the Magok district together.
• Wetland Garden: a wetland habitat stretching towards the Han River.
• Open Forest: lawns and woodland by the entrance nearest Magongnaru Station.

Plants from twelve cities

Beneath a wide, bowl-shaped glass roof, the greenhouse is split into a Tropical Zone and a Mediterranean Zone, presenting the climate and plants of 12 cities around the world. In the tropical section you will find bananas, mangoes, coffee plants and giant Amazon water lilies; in the Mediterranean section, baobabs, pomegranates and many kinds of palm. Climb to the skywalk that circles the upper greenhouse and you look down on it all from treetop height.

A 1926 pumping station

At one corner of the Themed Garden stands Magok Cultural Hall, the former drainage pumping station of the Yangcheon irrigation association, built in 1926. A Japanese-style timber structure set on a concrete retaining wall, it is the only agricultural pumping station from the colonial period known to survive, and it is a registered national heritage. Built to serve the farmland of the Magok plain, it now welcomes visitors as Magok Cultural Hall.

Eight themed gardens

The outdoor part of the Themed Garden is divided into eight areas: the Wind Garden, Today's Garden, Memory Garden, Contemplation Garden, Gardener's Garden, Invitation Garden, Healing Garden and Forest Garden. In the Memory Garden you find familiar Korean favourites such as lotus and peony, while the Forest Garden shows native plants like pasque flowers and gentians. Rather than leaving after the greenhouse, walk round the gardens to see how the park changes with the seasons.

Tripto tips

• Admission (Themed Garden): adults KRW 5,000, teenagers KRW 3,000, children KRW 2,000. The Open Forest, Lake Garden and Wetland Garden are free.
• Hours (Themed Garden): March–October 09:30–18:00, November–February 09:30–17:00, last entry one hour before closing. The greenhouse and themed gardens are closed on Mondays.
• Time needed: about 90 minutes for the greenhouse and themed gardens, 2–3 hours with a walk round the lake.
• Best time: the greenhouse is ideal on rainy or freezing days; in spring and autumn, give the outdoor gardens time too. The greenhouse gets crowded on weekend afternoons, so weekday mornings are calmer.
• Getting there: about 8 minutes on foot from Magongnaru Station (Line 9 and AREX), Exit 3. Parking is paid and limited, so public transport is recommended.