Cho Ki-chun and Oh Jung-sook, winners of the gold prize in the citizen garden category at the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show, pose at Seoul Forest in Seongdong District, Seoul, June 11. Photo by Yoon Ki-hoon
The letter “K” seems to be used everywhere these days for nearly anything Korean. Yet long before the Latin alphabet reached the Korean Peninsula, there were mountains and flowers and people who lived alongside them.
That is why gardening, bringing together traditional culture and Korea’s natural landscape, is emerging as a new language of Koreanness.
The theme for this year's competitions, held as part of the Seoul International Garden Show, was “The Wave of Seoul.” The show, which opened May 1 and runs through Oct. 17, challenged participants to capture Seoul’s identity and cultural appeal through the language of gardens.
Winners were selected in three categories: international, student and citizen. Although they each presented interpretations of their own, all the participants agreed that their inspiration came from Korea’s landscapes and traditional culture.
Putting overlooked wild grasses center stage
Gardening is increasingly becoming less confined to landscape specialists and more accessible as a hobby for ordinary citizens. The winners of the citizen category, Cho Ki-chun and Oh Jung-suk, were drawn into gardening almost by accident while working in the fashion and education industries, respectively. After meeting through a local gardening program, they formed a team for the competition.
Together, they created a garden named “Sodam: Wild Grasses, Masters of the Forest.” In place of showy ornamental varieties, they filled the space with native Korean plants such as jetbead, violets and umbrella plants, all wild plants that are often overlooked.
Cho and Oh said they made the choice because they believe biodiversity is one of nature’s most important aspects.
“It is a modest, understated garden,” Oh said. “But nurturing a healthy and diverse ecosystem is more important now than ever, as we feel the effects of the climate crisis more acutely with each passing year.”
Source: Korea Times News
