Spring time is the season for flower festivals in Korea.
Even if you’ve missed your chance to see the cherry blossoms and azaleas, late
Spring still offers other fabulous varieties of flowers to be seen.
And that’s the reason we came to the Seoul Grand Park on an early morning in May – for its annual Rose Festival.
The festival is Korea’s largest rose festival with a total
of 20,000 roses from about 290 species from all over the world on display,
including the pink ‘Maria Callas’ rose, named after a Greek-American soprano,
and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.
Adding to the romantic atmosphere was also a “Little Prince”
themed photozone where visitors eagerly posed for photos.
The dates of the festival changes every year but it tends to
runs from early/mid May to end June. The roses will start to get fuller in colour
and are expected to be at their peak towards the end of May/early June.
Seoul Grand Park is a humongous park comprising of not only the theme garden, but also Seoul Zoo (the largest zoo in Seoul), Seoul Land (a huge amusement park), as well as a campsite. It’s a long 15-20 minute walk from the park entrance all the way to the theme garden and we almost passed out from the heat! If you’re not feeling skint, you can also take the sky lift or the cute little tram that makes stops around the park. I would highly recommend that if you’re not keen on walking.
 |
| Children's Zoo, found inside the Rose Park |
Seoul Grand Park is a humongous park comprising of not only the theme garden, but also Seoul Zoo (the largest zoo in Seoul), Seoul Land (a huge amusement park), as well as a campsite. It’s a long 15-20 minute walk from the park entrance all the way to the theme garden and we almost passed out from the heat! If you’re not feeling skint, you can also take the sky lift or the cute little tram that makes stops around the park. I would highly recommend that if you’re not keen on walking.
There are many street vendors lining the pathway from the subway station to the park and you can also find food and snacks like gimbap from the ahjumma vendors. If you’re exhausted and hungry after your long walk, there is a KFC, Dunkin Donuts and CU convenience store near the park entrance and a restaurant called Rose Story near the entrance of the rose garden.
I also discovered a fabulous little manju shop called Ppiokko at the subway
station! YUM!
How to get there
Take Subway Line 4 to Seoul Grand Park Station (Seoul Land) Exit 2. From Jongno-3-ga, it took us about 40 minutes to get there.
Take Subway Line 4 to Seoul Grand Park Station (Seoul Land) Exit 2. From Jongno-3-ga, it took us about 40 minutes to get there.
Opening Time: From 9am. Admission to the rose garden is
2000 KRW for adults. For the rest of the areas in the park, e.g. the Seoul Zoo
and Seoul Land amusement park, there are additional charges.
The Rose Festival at Seoul Grand Park is an annual event that takes place in late May and early June at Seoul Grand Park, a large park located in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, South Korea. The festival celebrates the beauty of roses and attracts visitors from all over the country and beyond.
ReplyDelete