Garden to feature themed gardens adorned in five different colors, skywalk-type observation deck, parking lot, monorail, etc. -
Free admission on opening day, various immersive programs available on weekends in May -
Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor: Yoo Jeong-bok) announced that it is ready to open the Ganghwa Hwagae Garden, the first local garden in Incheon, on May 13.
The City decided to build the Hwagae Garden after the new Gyodong Daegyo Bridge created more demand for tourism resources among residents near the northern border of the country. The Garden is part of the Hwagaesan Tourism Resource Project, which was launched to help revitalize the local economy in Incheon.
The Hwagaesan Tourism Resource Project stretches across 146,913㎡, equivalent to 20 football pitches (7,140㎡ each). A total of KRW 48.9 billion went into the Project to create a five-color themed garden, a skywalk-type observatory, a dedicated parking lot, and a monorail system.
Hwagae Garden (110,000㎡) was first approved by the Korea Forest Service in Incheon on April 24, and was soon after registered as a local garden. Home to more than 180,000 trees, shrubs, and flowers, the park is particularly important in that it includes trees and plants donated by local residents. Not only that, the garden itself was cultivated together with the locals.
The five-color themed garden consists of a water garden, a history and culture garden, a memory garden, a peace garden, and a healing garden. Also, ponds, some mooring facilities, rock gardens, artificial waterfalls, sculptures, photo zones, shelters, etc. all provide a variety of attractions for visitors to see and enjoy.
In particular, the skywalk-type observatory offers a panoramic view of the Yeonbaek Plain in Hwanghae-do, North Korea, which is 7km away from the summit of Hwagaesan Mountain.
<Hwagae Garden - Skywalk Observatory>
Furthermore, the Garden will get various immersive programs such as stamp tours and traditional folk games to offer a more interesting, entertaining, and satisfying experience for locals and tourists. Also, on weekends in May, special booths will be set up for some interesting programs like Sochang, face painting, and dalgona cooking.
Admission to Hwagae Garden will cost KRW 5,000 per adult, but it will remain free for the entire day on opening day (May 13). Admission for members of the armed forces and other visitors eligible for discounts will be KRW 3,000 after opening day. To board the monorail, you need to purchase a separate ticket (KRW 12,000 per passenger, round-trip). On board the monorail, it will take roughly an hour and a half to two hours to tour both the Garden and the observatory.
<View of Hwagae Garden>
<Hwagae Garden - Monorail>
Heo Hong-gi, Incheon’s Director of the Greenery Policy Division, said, “I expect that Hwagae Garden to emerge as the best tourist attraction in the northwestern region of Korea.” He added, “We promise to create recreational forests and gardens that our local residents are looking for, and build a culture that values the welfare benefits green spaces have to offer.”
Meanwhile, the City has been creating recreational forests, gardens, arboretums, and forest parks, and it has also been planting trees and managing forest resources to make sure they are being used in a sustainable fashion. Going forward, Incheon plans on developing and interfacing its forest resources with tourism resources to generate more synergy.
