In my third and final piece on urban green spaces in Seoul, I would like to talk further about my new favourite place in the city: Seoul Forest. Reclaimed from an old horse racing track at the junction of the Han River and Jungnangcheon, Seoul Forest features wooded areas, a wetland, community vegetable garden, apple orchard, play spaces for children, a deer reservation, art installations, education facilities, cafes and a community hub, among other things. For Melbournites, it’s comparable to CERES Community Environment Park but on a larger scale.
Seoul Green Trust administer the Seoul Forest and maintain a number of other initiatives around the city, including a network of over fifty community garden sites, along with a regular organic food market in the Seongsu-dong neighbourhood in which the Seoul Forest is located. There is a strong focus on community community food sovereignty and urban ecological regeneration in the activities of SGT, which are much needed in a metropolis of the size and population density of Seoul.
Thank you to Kango Lee from Seoul Green Trust for his presentation on Seoul Forest and the many other activities of SGT, Jinkyoung Choi for coordinating my visit and all of the Seoul Green Trust and Seoul Forest team for their hospitality during my visit.
Seoul Forest is one of a number of organisations across East Asia doing great things in the environment, sustainability and permaculture space, which have been obscure to Australian professionals perhaps due to linguistic and cultural barriers. Australian professionals in these fields can learn much from visiting these places and establishing ongoing connections. If you’re ever in South Korea, Seoul Forest is well worth a visit.
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Map of the Seoul Forest site
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[…] Seoul Forest, is an example of such an urban green space. Reclaimed from an old horse racing track at the, Seoul Forest features wooded areas, a wetland, community vegetable garden, apple orchard, play spaces for children, a deer reservation, art installations, education facilities, cafes and a community hub, among other things. Seoul Green Trust administer Seoul Forest and maintain a number of other initiatives around the city, including a network of over fifty community garden sites, along with a regular organic food market. […]
[…] Seoul Forest is an example of such an urban green space. Reclaimed from an old horse racing track at the at the junction of the Han River and Jungnangcheon, Seoul Forest features wooded areas, a wetland, community vegetable garden, apple orchard, play spaces for children, a deer reservation, art installations, education facilities, cafes and a community hub, among other things. The Seoul Green Trust administers the forest and maintains a number of other initiatives around the city, including a network of over 50 community garden sites, along with a regular organic food market. […]
[…] permaculture with staff members of Seoul Green Trust in Seoul, South […]