Seoul Grand Park

서울대공원

A very large park in Gwacheon, open since 1984. Seoul Zoo, a botanical garden, themed gardens, a healing wood and forest-bathing trails and a campground sit inside one boundary, with Seoul Land and the Gwacheon branch of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art on the same site. At over nine million square metres it is not somewhere to cover in a day — pick one of those and go for it. It is reached on foot from exits 1, 2 and 3 of Daegongwon station on Seoul subway Line 4, which puts a full day out within the reach of a visitor with a transit card and no car.

Language

Place information

Korean name: 서울대공원
Address: 102 Daegongwon-gwangjang-ro, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
Nearest station: Seoul Subway Line 4 · Daegongwon Station (Exit Exits 1, 2 and 3)
Opening hours: Mar–Apr, Sep–Oct spring and autumn 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00) May–Aug summer 09:00–19:00 (last entry 18:00) Jan–Feb, Nov–Dec winter 09:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00) Display Greenhouse 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30)
Closed: Open year-round
Hours notes: The three seasonal timetables are the zoo's and the Theme Garden's; the display greenhouse keeps its own hours all year. Last admission is the operator's published rule of one hour before closing, so the 17:00, 18:00 and 16:00 above are that rule applied to each season's closing time. The greenhouse's 16:30 is a time the operator states directly. Nothing here closes for the day.
Admission: ₩2,000–₩5,000

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Prices

Zoo admission · Adult(adults aged 19 to 64)	₩5,0003,500 won for parties of 30 or more.
Zoo admission · Youth(youths aged 13 to 18)	₩3,0002,100 won for parties of 30 or more.
Zoo admission · Child(children aged 6 to 12)	₩2,0001,400 won for parties of 30 or more.
Theme Garden admission · Adult(adults aged 19 to 64)	₩2,0001,400 won for parties of 30 or more.
Theme Garden admission · Youth(youths aged 13 to 18)	₩1,5001,100 won for parties of 30 or more.
Theme Garden admission · Child(children aged 6 to 12)	₩1,000700 won for parties of 30 or more.
Zoo and Theme Garden admission · Senior(aged 65 and over)	Free
Zoo and Theme Garden admission · Infant(aged 5 and under)	Free

Source: Seoul Grand Park — its own admission and hours page (the zoo and Theme Garden open 09:00–18:00 in March–April and September–October, 09:00–19:00 in May–August and 09:00–17:00 in November–February, with the display greenhouse 10:00–17:00; open 365 days a year with no closing day; last entry one hour before closing, and 16:30 for the greenhouse. Admission is 5,000 won adult, 3,000 youth and 2,000 child for the zoo and 2,000 / 1,500 / 1,000 for the Theme Garden, with group rates for parties of 30 or more at 3,500 / 2,100 / 1,400 and 1,400 / 1,100 / 700. Entry is free to those aged 5 and under and 65 and over, for the zoo and Theme Garden only. The page's own revision date is 4 September 2026.) · Sep 6, 2026

History

The country’s first zoo and botanical garden opened at Changgyeongwon on 1 November 1909. From the late 1960s, calls grew to move the zoo and restore the palace: three million people visited each year, damage to the palace had become severe, and there was too little room for new animals. Construction began in Gwacheon on 30 October 1978. As part of the restoration of Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul, the zoo and amusement facilities at Changgyeongwon were moved to Gwacheon in Gyeonggi Province, and Seoul Grand Park opened in 1984.

1909
Changgyeongwon zoo and garden
The country’s first zoo and botanical garden opened at Changgyeongwon on 1 November.
1978
Construction in Gwacheon
Construction began in Gwacheon on 30 October.
1984
Seoul Grand Park opening
Seoul Grand Park opened after Changgyeongwon’s zoo and amusement facilities were moved to Gwacheon.

Seoul Grand Park — its own introduction page (opened 1 May 1984; address 102 Daegongwon-gwangjang-ro, Makgye-dong, Gwacheon-si; total area 9,132,690 m²; the constituent facilities listed as Seoul Zoo, the botanical garden, themed gardens, the healing wood, forest-bathing trails, the campground and baseball ground, plus Seoul Land and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) · Sep 5, 2026

What to see

Rose garden and children’s zoo

The rose garden and children’s zoo opened in September 2000.

Nearby

Yangjae Citizens' Forest Station

A Sinbundang Line station. One of its platforms drew visitors once it became known as a filming location.

Sohojeong

A house serving Andong guksi, the noodle dish of Andong's gentry households, with gukbap, boiled pork and savoury pancakes beside it.

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.

Seorae Village

A residential pocket straddling Banpo 4-dong and Bangbaebon-dong in Seocho-gu. French families settled here after the French school of Seoul moved to the area in 1985, and other foreign residents followed, so the lanes carry small European-style bakeries, bistros and cafés — places that serve the people who live here rather than visitors. Montmartre Park sits on the hill above. Come for an hour of walking a residential Seoul that most itineraries never reach, not for a sight to tick off.

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