7th Annual Event This Year, Held Until the 6th
28 Gardens Created with Participation from Artist Jeongwon, Students, Citizens, and Various Groups
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government is hosting the '2022 Seoul Garden Expo,' where visitors can enjoy the autumn gardens and artistic ambiance together, at Bukseoul Dream Forest until the 6th.
Now in its 7th year, the Garden Expo is held under the theme 'Dream Forest and the Garden of Art.' It showcases 28 gardens created through the participation of garden artists, students, and citizens, and offers various attractions and activities to the public through the Garden Industry Exhibition, academic events (Garden Conference), and garden culture programs.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government held the opening ceremony marking the start of the Garden Expo the day before at Bukseoul Dream Forest. Attendees included Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Namgung Yeok, Vice Chairman of the Seoul City Council Environment and Water Resources Committee, and Lee Soon-hee, Mayor of Gangbuk District.
This year’s venue, Bukseoul Dream Forest, is a park established in 2009 on the site of the former amusement park 'Dreamland.' It is a representative park in the Gangbuk area where visitors can enjoy beautiful scenery and various leisure activities together.
At this Garden Expo, visitors can experience high-quality gardens created through the participation of diverse groups. These include the ‘Artist Gardens’ presented by professional garden artists, ‘Student Gardens’ made by students interested in landscaping, ‘Citizen Gardens’ involving general citizens who love gardens, and ‘Pop-up Gardens,’ which are small-scale event-type gardens.
In the ‘Artist Gardens’ located at Cheongundapwon (Lawn Plaza), visitors can appreciate exhibition gardens by professional artists. A total of 47 teams participated in the competition under the theme ‘Dream Forest and the Garden of Art,’ and after judging, four teams’ gardens were selected to be showcased.
The ‘Garden Industry Exhibition,’ where the latest trends in the garden industry can be seen in one place, is also prepared. The ‘Garden Furniture Special Exhibition’ gathers various products frequently used in gardens and arranges them like an actual garden, which will also serve as a resting area for visitors. The ‘Garden Center’ set up in the Culture Plaza exhibits and sells various garden plants.
Academic events sharing garden-related knowledge are also held. The ‘Garden Conference,’ taking place from the 14th at the Dream Forest Art Center Concert Hall, will feature presentations by four experts and free-form discussions under the theme ‘Humanities, Nature, and Art in Gardens.’ The event will include conversations with experts who present unique approaches to cities, spaces, plants, and the environment in fields such as public art, media art, garden humanities, and garden design. Attendees can hear stories about gardens viewed from various perspectives, mediated through space and place, landscape and scenery, plants and life, nature and city.
In line with the purpose of this Garden Expo, which pursues integration with culture and arts, a variety of garden culture programs have also been prepared. Unlike last year’s programs, which were mainly conducted online due to COVID-19, this year’s Garden Expo offers programs that visitors can participate in and enjoy directly on-site.
Yu Young-bong, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Green City and Leisure Bureau, said, “We hope this Seoul Garden Expo will provide healthy comfort and rest to citizens who have been exhausted by the COVID-19 aftermath and busy daily lives,” adding, “We will continue to strive to expand gardens in living areas so that garden culture and green leisure culture can take root close to citizens’ lives.”
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