Seoul Forest

Seoul Forest opened in 2005 on ground that had been a royal hunting park, then a racecourse, then a water treatment site, and it is now the largest park in the eastern half of the city - around a hundred and twenty hectares along the Han and the Jungnangcheon. It divides into a culture park with lawns and a plaza, an ecological forest with a fenced enclosure where sika deer roam and can be fed, a wetland area built into the old water tanks with boardwalks and birdlife, and an insect garden with butterfly houses. The poplar grove and the tree-lined avenues are what most people come for, particularly in late autumn when the gingkos turn. A footbridge crosses to the riverside park. The neighbourhood around it, Seongsu, went from shoe factories and warehouses to cafés and design studios over the past decade and is now one of the more interesting districts to walk in the city.

What you actually see

• The deer enclosure - sika deer in the ecological forest.
• The poplar grove - the avenues and lawns.
• The wetland boardwalks - built into the old water tanks.
• The Seongsu district - converted factories and cafés outside.

When to go

April for cherry blossom, late October and November for gingko and maple. Weekends are busy; weekday mornings are calm.

Honest expectations

It is a city park, not a forest - expect crowds at weekends and in blossom season. The deer are enclosed and habituated. Some sections close for maintenance.

Nearby

Seongsu's café district is over the road; the Han River parks at Ttukseom are alongside.