Hwadamsup

화담숲

A private arboretum run by the LG Evergreen Foundation as a public-service undertaking. It opened formally in 2013 across 165,265 square metres laid out as sixteen themed gardens, planted with some 4,000 species of native and introduced plants. The ground is a hillside, steep enough that a monorail runs it. The thing that catches out first-time visitors is that there are no tickets at the gate.

Language

The monorail climbing the wooded slope at Hwadamsup in autumn, its track running straight up through red and yellow leaves.

Place information

Korean name: 화담숲
Address: 278-1 Docheokwit-ro, Docheok-myeon, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do
Opening hours: 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00)
Closed: Every Mon
Hours notes: The operator states that Hwadamsup runs entirely on advance reservation. That comes before any opening time: without a booking, when the gate opens does not matter, because there is no way in. It also asks visitors to check its notice board first, since the hours below can change with the season and the weather.
Admission: ₩11,000

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Prices

Admission · Adult · spring, summer and autumn(adults aged 19 to under 65)	₩11,000
Admission · Senior · spring, summer and autumn(seniors aged 65 and over)	₩9,000
Admission · Youth · spring, summer and autumn(youths of middle- and high-school age)	₩9,000
Admission · Child · spring, summer and autumn(children from 24 months to the end of primary school)	₩7,000
Admission · Infant(infants under 24 months)	Free

Source: Hwadamsup — its own hours and admission page (open 09:00–18:00, last entry 17:00, closed every Monday, with a standing note that hours may change with the season and the weather and that visitors should check the notice board first. The fee table is headed spring, summer and autumn and gives 11,000 won adult, 9,000 senior and youth, 7,000 child, free for infants under 24 months, with the monorail ticket sold separately. The age bands are defined as adult 19 to under 65, senior 65 and over, youth middle- and high-school age, and child from 24 months to the end of primary school.) · Sep 6, 2026

What to see

Meaning of Hwadam

‘Hwadam’ means ‘to talk together warmly’.

Nearby

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Korean Folk Village

A reconstructed late-Joseon village. Opening hours may vary with the season and weather. Check the operating information and the ticket's entry time and valid days separately for your visit date.

Jeong Yak-yong Historic Site

The one site that holds both the house Jeong Yak-yong grew up in and the grave he was buried in — Namyangju calls it the Jeong Yak-yong Historic Site, visitors more often Dasan Historic Site. On the low rise behind the house, the grave he shares with his wife of the Pungsan Hong clan looks out over the Han River; below it stands Yeoyudang, washed away by the great flood of 1925 and rebuilt in 1986 from surviving records and testimony. The same grounds hold the Mundosa shrine, a memorial hall and a culture hall, and a walk lined with a replica of the crane he designed for the building of Hwaseong Fortress. Admission is free.

Heonneung’s two mounds side by side behind a dense array of statuary — civil and military figures and stone horses set out in double the usual number

Heonilleung Royal Tombs

Heonneung, King Taejong’s tomb, carries twice the stone figures of any other royal tomb, following the Goryeo precedent of King Gongmin’s tomb. It is the reference point if you want to compare tomb statuary.

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