The useful idea is the route, not one garden

The 2026 Seoul International Garden Show is not confined to a fenced exhibition ground. Seoul says 167 gardens have been distributed around Seoul Forest and out into nearby streets and corridors, with the wider plan extending through Seongsu toward the Hangang and Gwangjin area.

That changes how a visitor can use Seongsu. Instead of arriving only for cafés, fashion stores and pop-ups, you can start in Seoul Forest and treat the district as a walk in which gardens, retail streets and river-facing spaces overlap.

Why this edition feels different

The city built the 2026 show around the idea of an urban garden network rather than a single park display. Major designer gardens sit inside Seoul Forest, while smaller installations and planted elements continue into the neighborhood. K-culture brands including fashion, beauty and food names also took part in garden spaces, which makes the show unusually connected to the commercial identity Seongsu already has.

The result is not that Seongsu has suddenly become a quiet botanical district. It is still busy, commercial and uneven from block to block. What has changed is that there is now a deliberate green layer connecting parts of the area that visitors might otherwise experience as separate stops.

How to use it

Start with Seoul Forest if you want the highest concentration of gardens, then continue toward Seongsu rather than trying to see all 167 sites. The city says garden viewing is available throughout the day, while participatory programs generally run 12:00–20:00.

Each garden has QR-based information, with nine-language support in the city’s smart-guide system. Korean and English docent programs are also available through the official garden-show program.

What not to assume

The show’s large footprint does not mean every street between Seoul Forest and the wider corridor is continuously landscaped. Some installations are concentrated in specific nodes, and individual programs may require reservations or operate only at selected times.

For most visitors, the better goal is not completion. Use the garden show to make a longer Seongsu walk more coherent, then stop where your interests take over—design, shopping, food, the park or the river.