Seoul International Garden Expo 2026 — 167 free gardens, six months, two minutes from the subway

If you're visiting Seoul anywhere between May and late October 2026, here's something genuinely worth slotting into your itinerary: the 2026 Seoul International Garden Expo runs for 180 days across Seoul Forest and the Seongsu-dong neighborhood — and general admission is free.

Quick facts

• Dates: May 1 – October 27, 2026 (open daily)
• Hours: 12:00 PM – 7:00 PM (extended to 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM in July & August)
• Admission: Free for general entry. A handful of experiential programs charge a small fee.
• Theme: "SEOUL, GREEN CULTURE"
• Scale: 167 gardens spread across roughly 90,000 m², covering Seoul Forest, Seongsu-dong, and extending into Seongdong-gu, Gwangjin-gu, and the Han River waterfront.

Why it's worth your time

This isn't a small city festival. Seoul invited international landscape architects — including France's Henri Bava and Korea's Lee Nam-jin — alongside five winning designers selected from an international competition, fifty corporate-donated gardens, thirty "linear" gardens running along major streets, and five standout gardens with Han River views.

For a first-time Seoul visitor, the expo works as a low-cost half-day excursion that doubles as a Seoul Forest sightseeing trip. For repeat visitors, it's a fresh way to see a familiar park.

What to do once you're there

• Smart-guide QR tours — available in 9 languages. Probably the single most foreign-visitor-friendly part of the whole event.
• "Garden Hunters" AR game — a treasure-hunt-style mobile game launching May 6, 2026. Good for kids or a slow afternoon.
• Docent-led tours — multilingual, with accessibility-friendly options for visitors with disabilities.
• Farmer's markets, garden-industry exhibitions, and workshops — rotating throughout the six-month run.
• Opening-week performances (May 1–10) — fusion Korean music, fashion shows, international acts.

How to get there

• Suin-Bundang Line — Seoul Forest Station (서울숲역): exits 3, 4, or 5. About a 2-minute walk to the main entrance.
• Subway Line 2 — Ttukseom Station (뚝섬역): exits 7 or 8. About an 11-minute walk.
• Bus: routes 13, 121, 2014, 2224, 2413.
• Driving: Public transit is officially recommended. Parking exists at Seoul Forest and the Ttukseom Reservoir public lot, but expect it to fill up on weekends and holidays.

If you have one afternoon

Pair the expo with neighboring Seongsu-dong's specialty cafés (Seoul's unofficial "Brooklyn"), a walk along the Han River, or a stop at Ttukseom Hangang Park. May–June is the most photogenic stretch; the extended July–August evening hours (until 9:00 PM) let you avoid daytime heat.

Official English site: seoul.go.kr/festa/garden/y2026/english

Free, multilingual, evergreen, and a two-minute walk from a major subway line — this is one of the easiest "yes" recommendations Seoul is offering tourists this year.