Seoul Forest
서울숲
The park is open 24 hours and never closes, but almost everything worth timing inside it does — the ecological forest, both conservatories and the floor fountain all keep separate hours, and the two indoor ones shut on Mondays. Tents, sun shelters and awnings are banned outright, which is the rule most picnic plans get wrong.
Language
Place information
- Korean name
- 서울숲
- Address
- 273 Ttukseom-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
- Nearest station
- Seoul Forest Station (서울숲역, Suin-Bundang Line) (Exit 4) · 2-min walk, Ttukseom Station (뚝섬역, Line 2) (Exit 8) · 10-min walk
- Opening hours
- open at all hours Ecological Forest (deer enclosure and footbridge) 05:30–21:30 Insect and Plant Conservatory Mar–Oct 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) Insect and Plant Conservatory Jan–Feb, Nov–Dec 10:00–16:00 (last entry 15:30) Butterfly Garden May–Oct 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) Visitor Centre 09:00–18:00
- Closed
- Insect and Plant Conservatory Every Mon · Butterfly Garden Every Mon
- Hours notes
- The park itself is open around the clock, all year, with no gate and no admission charge. The floor fountain has no opening and closing time — it runs in 30-minute bursts, May to September: 13:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, with 12:00 added in July and August. Its other rules — closed Mondays for maintenance, and not run in rain regardless of how much falls, nor once rain has stopped, because the basin must be drained and cleaned — come from the Seoul Forest Conservancy's 2019 notice, and the park operator's own page does not publish them; the conservancy wound up its work at the end of 2021. Car park: 200 won per 5 minutes for a small car, 400 for a large one, 211 spaces, open 24 hours.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Admission
- Free
Nearby
Eungbongsan
A low hill of 81 metres in Eungbong-dong, Seongdong-gu. The octagonal pavilion at the top looks clear across the Han and the city beyond it, which is why people climb it after dark; in early April the whole hill goes yellow with forsythia.
Hanilkwan Apgujeong
A Korean set-menu house that opened in Jongno in 1939 as a bulgogi restaurant and later moved to Apgujeong; it serves by the table setting.
Apgujeong Rodeo Street
A street that became a fashion address in the early 1990s and now carries a broader youth culture. Restaurants and cafés are mixed in among the clothing shops, so it is not only a place to shop.
Daelim Changgo Gallery
An exhibition space and cafe inside a red-brick building that worked as a rice mill in the 1970s. It closes only on Seollal and Chuseok themselves.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pitch a tent or a sun shelter?
No. The operator bans tents, pop-up tents, sun shelters, awnings and banners outright. This differs from the Han River parks, where designated sun-shelter zones exist.
Stories about this place
- Eleven Seoul Parks, Compared: Seoul Forest, Namsan, the River Parks and Olympic Park
Eleven parks in Seoul compared on what each one is, how much walking it takes and how crowded it gets. Nine of the eleven keep no opening hours and charge nothing, so the choice comes down to what you want from the day.
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