Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province will co-host the Korea Garden Industry Expo for the first time in the province, together with the Korea Forest Service and Yeongwol-gun.
In recent years, Gangwon Province has been pursuing national garden designation with "water" as its theme, drawing on its lakes, rivers and coastline.
The expo is expected to serve as a springboard for Chuncheon, known as a lakeside city, Gangneung, whose glacier-fed inlet has transformed into a scenic K-lagoon, and Yeongwol, where the Dong River and Seo River wind through the landscape — positioning all three as national garden destinations on a par with the Suncheon Bay area.
The 2026 Korea Yeongwol Garden Industry Expo runs Friday through Oct. 11 — 10 days in total — at Cheongnyeongpo Garden within Dongsegang Garden in Yeongwol-eup (433 Bangjeol-ri, Yeongwol-eup). Under the theme "Stories Told by Nature, Becoming a Garden," the expo will feature a range of programming: the signature invited-artist garden "The King's Garden," along with student and community participation gardens, the Korea Garden Show, a garden industry exhibition, a garden plant display and an international garden symposium.
A free shuttle bus will connect the event venue to the parking lot at Donggang Riverside Park (61-9 Hasong-ri, Yeongwol-eup).
Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province said it expects the expo to link gardens with tourism, industry and the local economy, and to help spread garden culture and industry across the province.
The expo's signature work, "The King's Garden," is an invited-artist garden created by Park Jeong-a, who drew on Yeongwol's history and sense of place. Through three spaces — "Field of Longing," "His Place" and "Her Place" — the garden interprets through garden art the life of King Danjong, who was exiled to Cheongnyeongpo, and his yearning for Queen Jeongsun.
Particularly notable is the planting of three pine trees donated from Sareung — the tomb of Queen Jeongsun — by the Cultural Heritage Administration's Palace and Royal Tomb Management Office. The trees carry forward the story of Danjong and Jeongsun, who were separated more than 500 years ago and never reunited, weaving their history into Yeongwol's natural landscape and gardens.
The garden industry exhibition will bring together products and content spanning garden plants, horticultural and landscaping materials, and garden goods. The Korea Garden Show and the student and community participation gardens will offer visitors a range of perspectives on garden design, from professional artists to local residents.
On Oct. 8, an international garden symposium will bring together domestic and international garden experts to discuss the history and value of royal gardens around the world and the future of garden culture.
Gangwon Province's garden city policy is also expanding from Yeongwol to Chuncheon and Gangneung. Following Yeongwol-gun's selection last year, both Chuncheon and Gangneung were chosen this year for the 2027 garden city development project, meaning the initiative will be under way in three cities and counties across the province starting next year.
"The Korea Garden Industry Expo, being held in Gangwon Province for the first time, is an opportunity to showcase the new possibilities of Gangwon's garden culture by combining garden culture and industry with Yeongwol's beautiful nature and history," said Kim Gyu-ha, director general of the forest and environment bureau. "We will continue to expand the foundation of garden culture and industry so that gardens can become part of residents' everyday lives and grow into a new resource connecting tourism, industry and the local economy."
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