Last updated: July 2026
Quick answer: The 2026 Seoul International Garden Show is a free, 180-day garden festival (May 1 – October 27) spread across Seoul Forest, Seongsu-dong, and the Ttukseom Hangang riverside. As of July 1, 2026, operating hours extended to 2:00 PM–9:00 PM (from the earlier noon–7pm schedule), and every Saturday through August the show adds a free outdoor movie night at Seoul Forest. No tickets, no booking — just show up.
What Is the Seoul International Garden Show?
The 2026 Seoul International Garden Show is the city’s largest and longest-running garden festival to date, linking Seoul Forest to the Seongsu-dong creative district and the Ttukseom Han River waterfront with 167 individual gardens designed by domestic and international landscape teams. The show opened May 1, 2026, and runs for a record 180 consecutive days through October 27 — meaning it’s in full bloom for the entire summer and well into autumn.
Admission is completely free, and the gardens themselves are viewable at any time; only the ticketed-in-name-only participatory programs run on the show’s official hours. That distinction matters for evening visits, covered below.
What Changed on July 1, 2026?
From opening day through the end of June, the show’s program hours ran noon to 7:00 PM. Starting July 1, organizers shifted the daily schedule to 2:00 PM–9:00 PM — a deliberate move away from the hottest midday hours and into the cooler evening, when Seoul Forest’s lawns and river breeze make the gardens far more comfortable to walk through. If you visited in May or June and are coming back, or you’re planning a July/August trip, build your visit around the new evening-friendly window rather than the original schedule you may have seen in earlier previews.
What’s the Free Saturday Movie Night?
Every Saturday in July and August, the show runs 한여름의 정원극장 (“Midsummer Garden Theater”), a free open-air screening series on the outdoor stage at Seoul Forest, from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Ten films are scheduled across the run, including La La Land, Elemental, Inside Out, Inside Out 2, Little Forest, Coco, Weathering with You, Little Women, Secret Garden, and Zootopia. No reservation is listed — arrive with a mat or blanket and claim lawn space before dusk, since the extended evening hours mean plenty of foot traffic drifts toward the stage after dinner.
How Do I Get to the Garden Show?
The main entrance sits beside Seoul Forest Station on the Suin-Bundang Line — take exits 3, 4, or 5 and it’s about a 2-minute walk. From Ttukseom Station on Line 2, exits 7 or 8, it’s roughly an 11-minute walk along the riverside path. Both routes are covered in the Seoul transit guide if you still need to set up a T-money card.
Because the gardens stretch from Seoul Forest into Seongsu-dong and down to the Ttukseom Hangang riverbank, it’s easy to combine a visit with two of the city’s best-known summer draws. The Seongsu-dong neighborhood guide covers the cafés and industrial-chic streets a short walk from the show’s western edge, and the Han River guide has picnic-spot and cruise details for the riverside stretch the gardens run alongside.
Is This Worth Visiting If I’m Already Doing Han River Festival Events?
Yes — the garden show and the Han River’s other summer programming complement each other rather than compete. If your trip already includes the Hangang River Festival (Aug 1–16) or the broader Korea summer 2026 festival calendar, Seoul Forest and Seongsu-dong sit close enough to the river to fold into the same day trip — arrive in the afternoon for the gardens, stay through the new 9pm closing time, and catch a Saturday film if the date lines up.
Quick Summary: Seoul International Garden Show 2026
- Dates: May 1 – October 27, 2026 (180 days)
- Locations: Seoul Forest, Seongsu-dong, Ttukseom Hangang riverside
- Gardens: 167, free to view
- Hours (updated July 1): 2:00 PM–9:00 PM daily
- Free Saturday movie nights: July–August, 7:00–9:00 PM, Seoul Forest outdoor stage, 10 films
- Nearest stations: Seoul Forest (Suin-Bundang Line, exits 3/4/5) or Ttukseom (Line 2, exits 7/8)
- Cost: Free