KOREATRAVEL LIST

The Garden of Morning Calm

아침고요수목원

The only place in this guide whose operator publishes a page for each of the four seasons, and it means it: the hours themselves change for a third of the year, when the winter light festival pushes closing time to 21:00.

Language

Lawns and garden beds at the Garden of Morning Calm with the autumn slopes of Chungnyeongsan behind

Place information

Korean name
아침고요수목원
Address
432 Sumogwon-ro, Sang-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do
Opening hours
Otherwise 08:30–19:00 (last entry 18:00) Jan–Mar, Dec Lighting Festival 10:00–21:00 Jan–Mar, Dec Sat Lighting Festival, extended 10:00–23:00
Closed
Open year-round
Hours notes
During the Lighting Festival the arboretum runs on the second timetable instead of the standing one, not as well as it. Last admission is one hour before closing, which is the rule the operator publishes; 18:00 is that rule applied to the standing 19:00 close, and the festival bands move it with them. The festival dates are given as early December to mid-March rather than as fixed days, so the months above are the operator's own approximation. Tickets are sold at the gate only — there is no online purchase and no booking is needed. Re-entry after leaving is not permitted, and admission is not refunded for rain.
Time needed
Half day
Admission
₩8,000–₩11,000
Google Maps Naver Map KakaoMapOfficial site

Prices

Admission · Adult(adult)₩11,000
Admission · Youth(youth)₩8,500
Admission · Child(36 months through elementary school)₩7,500
Discount admission · Senior(ages 65+, national-merit recipients, and disabled visitors)₩9,000
Resident admission · Adult(Gapyeong residents)₩8,000

Source: Garden of Morning Calm — hours and admission ·

Filmed here

Visiting rules

When to go

  • Spring

    Blossom that outlasts Seoul's

    It opens with yellow adonis, hirea and witch hazel, then tulips across the garden with Chungnyeongsan behind. It is colder here than the capital region, so the cherry blossom is still going after Seoul's festivals have finished. Azaleas close the season.

  • Summer

    Hydrangeas without going south

    Perennials rather than mass planting — hydrangea, clematis, rose, peony, phlox, veronica, monarda, lily, daylily, water lily — in the Secret Garden, Seohwayeon, the Morning Calm Walk, the Moonlight Garden, the Hagyeong Garden and J's Cottage Garden. Two streams run down from the summit of Chungnyeongsan, with open platforms anyone may use.

  • Autumn

    The mountain is the backdrop from everywhere

    Chungnyeongsan turns from every viewpoint in the garden, with chrysanthemum scent through it and ginkgo along the walks. The pink muhly at its peak is the photographed one.

  • Winter

    The Lighting Festival

    Snow makes the plainest version of the garden, and the operator says the ink-painting look is the thing only winter gives. The Lighting Festival runs through the winter; its timetable is in the hours above.

Nearby

Sejo’s burial mound at Gwangneung from above: a balustrade and no screen of stone panels, with the stone lantern, civil and military figures and stone horses set out on the terraces below

Gwangneung Royal Tomb

The tomb of Sejo and Queen Jeonghui, and the first to place two mounds on separate hills under a single shrine. The forest around it has been protected ever since the tomb was laid out.

A broad dirt avenue on Nami Island under an arch of branches from the trees on either side, with walkers further down it and the North Han River beyond the right-hand verge

Nami Island

You buy the ticket in one province and land in another, and the ticket is a boat fare. Almost everything that decides your day here — how much you pay, how late you can stay — is set by the ferry timetable rather than by the island.

Sareung’s T-shaped shrine and the ridge behind it, the stone figures of the burial ground visible up the grass slope among the pines

Sareung Royal Tomb

The tomb of Queen Jeongsun, Danjong’s consort. She died stripped of her rank and was buried with the rites due a grand prince’s wife; nearly one hundred and eighty years later she was restored, and the grave became a royal tomb.

Hongneung from the red spirit gate: stone figures ranged along both sides of the path to the sleeping hall, and the burial mound on the hill directly behind it

Hongneung and Yureung Imperial Tombs

Imperial tombs of the Korean Empire, so the form departs from every other Joseon royal tomb: a sleeping hall in place of the T-shaped shrine, and stone qilin, elephants and camels lining the approach. The graves of the imperial family lie inside the same walls.

Frequently asked questions

Can I bring my dog?

No. Animals are not admitted to the grounds at all. If you are travelling with a dog, Nami Island in the same cluster does admit them.

Is there a zoo?

There is a family zoo, but it is not inside the arboretum — the operator puts it a kilometre away, and it is separately ticketed.

How do I get there without a car?

Course B of the Gapyeong tourist shuttle terminates here. A day ticket is 8,000 won and covers transfers to Course A at Petite France. The shuttle does not run on Wednesdays unless the Wednesday is a public holiday.

Stories about this place

  • Period-Drama Filming Locations in Namwon, Gapyeong and Seocheon

    Three gardens and historic sites featured in Korean period dramas, including The King's Affection and Love in the Moonlight. They are in different regions, so choose the one that fits your itinerary.

  • Six Day Trips from Seoul: How to Check Admission and Opening Hours

    Everland, Korean Folk Village, Hwaseong, the Garden of Morning Calm, Nami Island and Jarasum compared on what to check about admission and opening hours, with who each suits and how to group them by direction. Everland sets its closing time by date, Hwaseong's quoted 2,000 won is for Hwaseong Haenggung, and Nami Island's ticket includes the round-trip boat.

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Where these facts come from