The '2026 Songpa Garden Culture Festa' runs Thursday and Friday at Sincheon Neighborhood Park, newly renovated after 43 years, featuring a talk by award-winning garden designer Hwang Ji-hae, gardening workshops, performances, exhibitions and busking.
Songpa-gu will kick off Seoul's first festival dedicated entirely to garden culture on Thursday.
The district will hold the "2026 Songpa Garden Culture Festa — Songpa, a Garden City We Grow Together" at Sincheon Neighborhood Park on Thursday and Friday, following the park's long-awaited renovation.
The event was conceived not as a one-off activity or a simple community gardening session, but as a broader effort to weave garden culture naturally into every aspect of residents' daily lives.
As Seoul's first garden culture festival, the program is packed with performances, lectures, hands-on experiences and exhibitions across both days. Opening day begins at 10 a.m. with a gardening workshop at a pop-up garden designed by Songpa community gardeners and local residents. At 2 p.m., the Korean Grass Flute Association takes the stage for "Songs Sung with Grass Leaves," followed at 3 p.m. by a garden-themed quiz show.
Two concerts by Songpa youth artists are also on the bill. At noon, Ayuni performs classical chamber music, and at 5:30 p.m. Moment M presents a brass quintet to fill the autumn garden with melody.
Friday opens at 11 a.m. with the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for both the festival and the park's renewed opening. At noon, the Alstring Quartet Ensemble performs a classical string quartet, and at 3 p.m. local office workers take the stage for a busking set — rounding out a full afternoon of culture and the arts in the heart of the city.
The highlight of the second day is a talk concert by garden designer Hwang Ji-hae, held from 3 p.m. at the Songpa-gu Office auditorium. Hwang has won three gold medals at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show in the United Kingdom. She will share her experiences showcasing the value and potential of Korean garden design on the world stage.
Participatory programs for those who want to see, create and unwind are also on offer. A garden gallery lets visitors stroll through photographs of Songpa's distinctive gardens, while a poetry garden pairs verse with the ambiance of nature. An outdoor reading space called the Garden Library invites visitors to settle in with a book in the cool autumn breeze.
Alongside this, families can hop aboard a garden road train for children, snap photos with characters at an event garden, browse and shop at a garden flea market, and try grass-flute playing or make natural-material necklaces at a neighborhood garden shop — ensuring something for every age.
Sincheon Neighborhood Park, where the festival is held, has been operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency as a children's traffic safety park since 1983. After 43 years, it has been fully renovated and will open to residents on Thursday. The revamped park has been reborn as a multi-purpose wellness space featuring a garden support center, a moss garden, an outdoor library and a playground.
"We prepared this festa with great care to elevate the brand value of Songpa as a livable garden city and to build garden culture together with residents as part of their everyday lives," Songpa-gu District Mayor Seo Gang-seok said. "We hope that Songpa residents and workers, as well as domestic and international visitors, will fully enjoy the remarkable transformation of Sincheon Neighborhood Park and its distinctive garden culture."
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