The Garden of Morning Calm

The garden was started in the mid-1990s by Han Sang-kyung, a horticulture professor at Sahmyook University, who wanted a Korean garden built on Korean lines: asymmetric, following the shape of the hill rather than flattening it, with curved beds and open ground deliberately left between the planting. It opened on 11 May 1996 and runs over some 33 hectares of slope in Gapyeong, with about 5,000 plant species and twenty-two named sections as of 2024, among them a sunken garden, a bonsai yard, a wildflower area and a moss garden, and paths that loop rather than cross. The planting peaks with azaleas and irises in late spring and again with chrysanthemums and maples in autumn. From December the whole slope is strung with lights and opens after dark, which is when most Seoul visitors come.

The main sights

• The sunken garden - the central bowl of beds seen from the path above it.
• The hillside layout - beds following the slope instead of a grid.
• Autumn maples - the strongest week of colour, usually late October.
• The winter lights - the slope strung and opened after dark from December.

When to go

Late spring for flowers, late October for maple colour, and December to March for the lighting, which runs well into the evening. Summer is green but hot and the shade is patchy. Weekends and the whole lighting season bring queues at the gate and full car parks. Two to three hours covers the loop without hurrying.

Before you go

It is a commercial garden with a full-price ticket, a large gift shop and cafes, and during the lighting season it is closer to an illumination event than a garden visit. The paths are steep in places and gravel throughout. Out of season, in November or early spring, there is genuinely very little to look at for the money.

Nearby

Nami island and the Cheongpyeong lake area are close, with the Bukhangang valley running back towards Seoul.

Key facts