Seoul Forest

Carmine.shot · CC BY 2.0

A racecourse and waterworks turned into a large park, with a herd of deer living loose in a patch of woodland.

Before 2005 this ground was, in turn, a Joseon royal hunting park, a racecourse, and a water treatment plant. The city folded all of it into a park of nearly a hundred hectares in five parts: woodland, a riverside garden on the Han, an ecological wetland, a sports area, and a deer park where sika deer wander behind a low fence. The old settling tanks of the waterworks were kept and planted, making a strange sunken garden. At weekends the crowd from Seongsu-dong — a district of old workshops now full of coffee roasters — comes over with picnic mats, and in autumn the ginkgo avenue along the main path turns brilliant yellow.

Visitor information

When is the best time to visit Seoul Forest?

April–May and October–November

How long do you need at Seoul Forest?

2 hours

What are the opening hours of Seoul Forest?

Open all day

Did you know

Opened in 2005 on the site of a former racecourse and water treatment plant.
About 116 hectares, divided into five distinct areas.
There is a deer park with a resident herd of sika deer.
The old settling tanks of the waterworks were kept as a sunken garden.

Travel tips

Hire a public bike; walking all five areas is a long way.
Combine it with the Seongsu-dong café district next door.
Late October is when the ginkgo avenue is at its brightest.

Source: https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/

Updated: 2026-08-05