Sejong City aims to propose the concept of a “Garden City” as the key to shaping the future. Sejong City envisions itself as a city within a garden, striving to achieve sustainable development, strengthen community bonds, foster family connections, and reduce carbon emissions.
Firstly, Sejong City boasts the highest green space ratio in South Korea, amounting to 52%. Urban forests are abundant throughout residential areas. Additionally, we have numerous gardens and parks, including rooftop gardens, ground gardens, and water gardens. A notable example is the world’s longest rooftop garden at the government complex. It is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, reaching 3.6 km in length. Sejong is also home to the beautiful gardens at the National Sejong Arboretum, Central Park, and the lake park. We also have water gardens by the Geum River, which is the third largest river in South Korea, as well as by the streams across the city.
Based on this rich infrastructure, Sejong City recently achieved a remarkable accomplishment in the international challenge competition organised the C.I.B., the certifying and evaluating body for International Garden Cities, by attaining a Silver rating for being recognised as one of the world’s finest garden cities.
The vision that Sejong is pursuing by creating a city of gardens is a city of vitality, recovery, community cohesion, and future growth. Through the concept of Sejong as a garden city, we aim to support a vibrant and pleasant life for families, which will contribute to addressing modern social issues like low birth rates.
Furthermore, gardens will provide space for healing and recovery. Several festivals, including the Sejong Light Festival and Falling Blossoms Fire Festival, are held in the gardens of Sejong throughout the year. Such festivals will help distinguish Sejong as a city with a unique culture that embraces healing and recovery. Through the recovery, healing, and revitalisation that gardens give us, we hope that local communities will thrive and strengthen local solidarity.
Lastly, our Garden City will serve as a foundation for the development of future high-tech industries such as cybersecurity, Digital Twin, AI, Drones, and Autonomous driving, all of which are Sejong’s future industries. Gardens will be a source of new ideas and attraction for high-tech companies and skilled labor.
As the first step towards becoming a garden city, Sejong City plans to host the 2026 International Garden City Exhibition. This event will take place for 45 days from April to May, mainly at the Lake Park, Central Park, and National Arboretum areas. We ask for your continuous support in Sejong City’s vigorous leap into a garden city, and we look forward to meeting you at the 2026 International Garden City Exhibition.
