111 Gardens in the City... Largest Garden Expo to Be Held for Five Months

Opening Ceremony at Boramae Park on the 22nd
Mayor Oh Sehoon and Garden Artists to Attend
Awards for Five Gardens Selected Through International Competition
Spotlight on Regional Coexistence with Company Participation

The largest-ever international garden expo will be held for five months at Boramae Park, the representative park of the southwestern region of Seoul. A total of 111 large and small gardens will be created on a 400,000-square-meter site, with participation from various companies also planned.

On the afternoon of the 22nd, Seoul City announced that it would hold the opening ceremony for the "2025 Seoul International Garden Expo" at the main stage of Boramae Park, with Mayor Oh Sehoon in attendance. Marking the 10th edition of the "Seoul Garden Expo," which began in 2015, this year's event features the largest area and longest duration in its history, with unprecedented scale and content. The goal is to transform all of Seoul into a living, breathing garden, focusing on respect and love for nature rooted in the city's history, culture, and the daily lives of its citizens.

111 Gardens in the City... Largest Garden Expo to Be Held for Five Months

Seoul City will hold the "2025 Seoul International Garden Expo" at Boramae Park located in Sindaebang-dong, Dongjak-gu, from the 22nd to October 20th. Seoul City

The number of gardens has increased from 90 last year to 111 this year, with a wider range of participants involved. The number of company and institution gardens, which emphasize public-private cooperation and coexistence from the planning stage, has expanded from 21 last year to 33 this year. In addition, gardens created by other local governments and Seoul's 25 autonomous districts will also be featured.

Through this expo, Seoul City has focused on the concept of gardens that "connect people and nature." The artist gardens, created by domestic and international experts, include two invited gardens emphasizing "naturalness" and five competition gardens interpreting the theme of "the third nature" in diverse and intriguing ways. "The third nature" refers to gardens that exist on the boundary between nature and humanity, distinct from the first nature (primal nature) and the second nature (artificial environments such as cities and farmlands).

Awards for the competition gardens selected through the international contest, including ▲The Third Platanus Forest (Lee Yanghee, Oh Sehoon, South Korea), ▲Nesting (Till Rehwaldt, Garth Woolison, Germany, Czech Republic), ▲Garden of Eternal Life (Kim Yunbin, South Korea), ▲The Last Meal (Kim Gihan, South Korea), and ▲Waterrooots! (Alessandro Trivelli, Italy), will be presented at the opening ceremony.

The 33 showcase gardens created by companies, institutions, and local governments under themes such as "life, ecology, circulation, sustainability, and coexistence" each reflect the unique identity of their creators, adding to the enjoyment for visitors. In particular, booths will be set up to present Seoul City's diverse cultural and policy content in one place. Visitors can experience the hands-on exhibition hall (Haechi House) introducing the city's flagship policies, as well as the "Seoul Story Garden," which expresses various companion and attraction content as gardens. There will also be opportunities to enjoy reading in the garden (Book Reading Boramae Garden), viewing sculpture works (2025 Sculpture City Seoul), and cultural and artistic programs such as performances (Every Corner Live).

The five-month-long expo is also expected to boost the local economy and promote coexistence. At the venue, there will be a garden market (industrial exhibition) with over 70 participating garden and leisure-related businesses, food trucks operated in connection with small business owners, the "Seoro Market" for direct transactions between urban and rural areas, the "Happiness Market" selling products made by people with disabilities, and various sales booths featuring local forest products. In addition, visitors who participate in the garden expo's "Garden Stamp Tour" will be eligible for discount benefits at shops in the Dongjak and Gwanak districts near Boramae Park. During the expo period, Dongjak-gu will also issue a special "Dongjak Love Gift Certificate" at a 10% discount, which can be used at stores near the event venue.