The Seoul Botanic Park: Find Nature In Seoul

Whether or not you enjoy gardens or botany, the gorgeous architecture of the large greenhouse is definitely a draw at this new hot spot in Seoul. The Seoul Botanic Park (서울식물원) was opened in Magok in the Gangseo-gu district which was an interesting choice for the massive park.

This area of Seoul has been getting a lot of development and even has an Ando Tadao building now, the LG Art Center. This is THE spot to visit in spring in Seoul or even summer in Seoul. We love parks and if you do too, this is definitely one you can’t miss here in Seoul, Korea.

Here is where you’ll find all of the information you need to visit the Seoul Botanic Park:

• How To Get There
• Basic Facts
• What To See & Do
  • The Greenhouse
  • The Outdoor Park
• Stay Nearby

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How To Get There

Address: 161 Magokdong-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul (서울 강서구 마곡동로 161)

Directions: Magoknaru Subway Station, exit 3 or 4 and you’ll be right at the entrance to the park.

We arrived at 8:45 and got right into the parking lot with no waiting and not one other car there. We’ve visited later in the day and sometimes there is quite a wait if you need to park.

If you take public transportation, the park is directly outside of Magoknaru Station exits 3 and 4. From these exits you’ll have to walk through the outside portion of the park to get to the botanic garden in the greenhouse. The lobby area of the main building was open so we waited for just 10 minutes until the doors to the main space were unlocked and opened so we could enter.

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Basic Facts

Admission: Adults: W5,000; Teenagers: W3,000; Children: W2,000*

*The admission is for the Botanic Garden but the outdoor gardens are free.

Hours: Tuesday – Sunday: 9:00am ~ 6:00pm*

*The Forest Field, Botanic Garden, Lake Garden, and Marsh Park are open those designated hours but the Forest Field, Lake Garden, and Marsh Park are open 24 hours a day, all year round.

Amenities; Stroller and wheelchair rental at the visitor center/plant culture center info desk, restrooms, cafes, parking, convenience store

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What To See & Do

The interior is pretty spectacular… and warm. It was very very warm. The entire park is roughly the size of 70 soccer fields, as the Seoul Metropolitan Government website explains. That is more than two times larger than the Yeouido Park. The outdoor park area is meant to be open 24 hours a day and is meant to act as a communal space for people in the area.

The indoor space is open from 9:00am until 6:00pm. We were the first in to the greenhouse and by 10:00am, there were definitely a fair amount of people streaming in as we were headed out to find coffee. Keep that in mind if you plan to go on the weekend.

The Greenhouse

The greenhouse was designed by architect Chan Joong Kim, landscape artist Ou Gon Jon, and master planner Zoh Kyung Jin. Inside the gorgeous greenhouse building, there are twelve cities and their unique botanical cultures represented.

If you like greenhouses as much as I do, check out this list of amazing greenhouse cafes you can visit in Seoul too. They are perfect places to get some green when the dust levels in Seoul are high but it’s all indoors.

We entered into the “Tropical (pink)” space which has a gorgeous sky walk to give visitors a view from above before they reach the ground floor. This space houses plants from Hanoi, Vietnam, Jakarta, Indonesia, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Bogota, Columbia. From this space, paths lead into the “Tropical (green) space where visitors can see plant species from Barcelona, Spain, San Francisco, USA, Rome, Italy, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Athens, Greece, Perth, Australia, Istanbul, Turkey, and Cape Town, South Africa. The spaces are rather warm so even in this chilly weather, be prepared to take off a layer after you enter.

The building is shaped like a flower when seen from above and has a flattened glass dome which means it’s actually lower in the center than the edges. Be sure to not only walk around inside, but also take a walk around the exterior of the building to enjoy the architecture and the new plants coming in.

This is just one of the gorgeous parks in the city of Seoul. Don’t miss out on the others. My personal favorite park is the World Cup Park System. There are five parks within the system and they are each different, unique and interesting. And bonus, just across the street is the awesome Oil Tank Culture Park which is a culture center that was redeveloped from massive old oil tanks. Another great park worth checking out is the Seonyudo Island Park located in the middle of the Han River. The point… get out and enjoy the nature bits of the city of Seoul. They are stunning. This park actually features a bridge that will also get you to the Han River Parks as well.

Back to this park: Before or after you enter the main greenhouse space, there is also a learning area that is great if you have kids. There are various things to look at and some interactive sections as well. It’s not huge, but is just a great addition to seeing the living plants. It definitely enables more conversation and fun for the children you might be towing along. This is definitely one of those great things to do with kids in Seoul.

There is a cafe inside that is rather spacious and has drinks and desserts. If that is full when you go though, there is another cafe just outside the greenhouse and soon, there is also a tea house in the park outside. The cafe doesn’t open until 10:00am though so do keep that in mind. We walked through the greenhouse and then into the cafe and it was just about perfect timing.

There is also a giant greenhouse that is to sell botanical plants, books and planting materials so keep that in mind next spring if you’re looking to amp up your rooftop gardens here in Seoul.

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The Outdoor Park

The outdoor park will really be gorgeous… next year. This area definitely needs more time to grow in. I remember having the same feeling when I visited Seoullo when it first opened and it has definitely just gotten better with time. Considering the weather and as we’re heading into the winter, most of the gardens in the outdoor space are not as beautiful as I’m sure they will be. There are some lovely rock gardens and bridges at the moment and plenty of grassy areas that I’d guess will be great for picnicking next year.

There also seems to be a water/fountain area that I’m sure people will be digging next summer when it’s hot hot hot! Right now you can take a walk around the waterway/lake in the park and see the bridges there as well. Not all of them are open yet, but again, it looks like it will be great next year when it is fully revealed. If you do take a walk around, you’ll also notice an older looking building. This is the Magok Cultural Center which was originally built in 1928. It was a pumping station that flooded the area around where it now sits. It’s since been restored and inside people will be able to see the history of the area as well as modern agricultural displays.

We really enjoyed this introduction to the new park system and greenhouse in Magok. We will definitely be checking it out again next year when it’s filled in a bit and sees more growth in the plants outside. This area of Seoul is not the normal area to find must-see spots, but they are definitely pouring money into the neighborhoods here and trying to make it more popular and I cannot wait to see what the city planners have in store. If this is any indication, the entire area will be really something when all said and done.

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