Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon attended the "2026 Namsan Summer Festival" at Baekbeom Plaza on Namsan in Jung-gu at 8:40 a.m. Saturday, joining residents for a walk along the "Fun & Walk" route.
The Namsan Summer Festival is a citizen-participation event held across Namsan Park, featuring walking, hands-on experiences, tours and live music. The day begins with the morning "Namsan Fun & Walk," followed in the afternoon by a Korean Forest Garden tour and K-culture experiences, and wraps up in the evening with a live music performance.
Oh walked the Baekbeom Plaza–North Circular Road stretch of the "Namsan Fun & Walk" route alongside roughly 1,000 residents after a group stretching session.
The "Namsan Fun & Walk" course was divided into a "Fun Zone" — featuring a mini water-gun play area, a pinwheel zone and a dance zone — and a "Cool Zone," which included a large ice zone, a water fork zone and an Arisu Wauka beverage zone.
"Through the Namsan revitalization project we have been pursuing since 2009, spaces where citizens can enjoy themselves have been consistently growing, and the Korean Forest Garden, which opened that day, is one of those fruits," Oh said. "We will further expand the green spaces and rest areas where citizens can feel an improvement in their quality of life in their daily routines, using next year's Seoul International Garden Expo here on Namsan as an opportunity."
Oh then visited the Korean Forest Garden, which opened that day, to inspect its completed garden areas — including a pine grove courtyard, a bamboo garden and a moss garden — as well as the planned venue for the 2027 Seoul International Garden Expo.
The Korean Forest Garden was created in the area of Namsan's outdoor botanical garden and comprises 11 individual gardens organized around three themes: tradition and culture, nature and ecology, and relaxation and rest.
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