Seoul Forest, or “Seoul-sup” (서울숲) in Korean, sprawls across the north bank of the Han River in Seoul’s Seongdong neighborhood. As the third largest park in the capital of Korea, it stands only surpassed by World Cup Park in Mapo-gu and Olympic Park in Songpa-gu.

Encompassing a vast expanse of over 3,000 acres, the park boasts a rich diversity of fauna and flora, including a splendid display of ornamental cherry trees. This makes it a highly sought-after spring destination for both locals and tourists alike. When the peak season arrives, numerous areas within the park seem to be nestled beneath enchanting, fluffy clouds, courtesy of the abundant shimmering white and pale pink cherry blossoms.

Even if having an opportunity to visit the park during the spring feels like a privilege, many visitors find that it is difficult to precisely locate the spots with high concentration of the blooms since the park is immensely spacious. There is a fair share of the cherry trees, but they aren’t everywhere. Thus, in this post, locations of cherry blossom viewpoints situated within Seoul Forest Park will be listed along with some other useful information. 

Hopefully the list will encourage everyone to visit and enjoy those Seoul Forest Park cherry blossoms this spring!

The Best Time to See Cherry Blossoms in Seoul Forest:

While there is a handful of varieties of blossoming trees in many recreational parks scattered throughout the city, the most common type of cherry blossoms you can find in Seoul Forest Park seems to be Yoshino cherry trees (소메이요시노), which produce light pink, almost white, slightly fragrant flowers. These cherry trees bloom earlier than any others, and you can expect to catch them at peak around late March to mid-April.

How to Get to Seoul Forest:

Seoul Forest Park consists of five areas: a Cultural Art Park, an Ecological Forest, a Nature Experience Study Field, Wetlands Ecological Field, and Han River Waterside Park. To get to the park, Seoul Subway can be the most efficient, affordable way. You can reach the Cultural Art Park from exit 3 of the Suinbundang Line’s Seoul Forest Station (서울숲역). It takes around 7 minutes on foot from the station to Geoul Pond (거울연못) located in the Cultural Art Park zone. Or, if subterranean transport is not an option, you can also take a bus to Ttukseom Seoul Forest (뚝섬서울숲) bus stop located nearby the park’s entrance number 9. The buses that stop are 141, 145, 148, and 463.

Where to See Cherry Blossoms in Seoul Forest:

As you walk along the relatively well organized paths inside the park, you will surely stumble upon some single cherry trees here or there. Following the map below, you will be brought to the areas where the cherry blossoms in Seoul Forest Park are at their best. 

In the Cultural Art Park Zone, an area in the top-right quadrant of the map, you can find a cluster of the blossoming trees in the field across the Geoul Pond. This can be the first congregation you’d encounter if you access the park via entrance number 2. The second area for a denser flock of cherry trees is in the Nature Experience Study Field, the area that can be spotted in the bottom right of the map. Follow the dirt street by the insectarium (곤충식물원), it will lead you to the section flanked with mature cherry trees; ambling down this lane as the flowers are in full bloom is the most romantic spell the park can offer. When you finish the course, the path will bring you to the Ecological Forest, in the low-left-corner of the picture, where the last and the most beautiful swarm of flowers awaits.

Best Cherry Blossoms Photo Ops in Seoul Forest:

When you approach each spot where the dense cloud of cherry blossoms is located, a lot of picturesque scenery can certainly be captured at/from any point around the trees. However, if you are a creative photo enthusiast, you might want to consider trying these following options.

Sitting on a Gigantic Wooden Bench

Nearby the grove of cherry trees in the Cultural Art Park Zone, there is a far-from-normal wooden bench mingling among those regulars. The tabletop is around 2-meter high, and posing on it would give you a lovely portrait photograph with a gleaming canvas of flowers as a backdrop. 

Naver Map: Seoul Forest Pool Nearby the Bench [link]

Higher Perspective of Gosanja-ro

As referred above, the unpaved road lining with the fully grown cherry trees connects two major sites of the park: the Nature Experience Study Field and the Ecological Forest. This 500 meter long flower tunneling path lays across Gosanja highroad (고산자로) linking the areas from underneath. At the point the strips overlap, there is a spot you can create a beautiful picture from. 

Once you get closer to the underpass, set your camera on the street below, aim the barrel toward the manifesting part of the Gosanja-ro sidewalk. From in the middle of the grove, shooting upward into the sky will grant you with an image that is more graphical — blocks of color filling the frame with blue sky visible in the background as opposed to individual blossoms. And if you’d like to include yourself into the display, the highroad sidewalk can be accessed through gate number 10 located nearby Seongsudaegyo-puktan intersection (성수대교북단 교차로).

Naver Map: Gate No.10 [link]

Soaking in the Sea of Flowers

Along the popular cherry blossom road, there are plenty of viewpoints that overlook the stunning sights of the flower lining stripe. Take Jeonmanggyo walking bridge (보행전망교) in the Eco Forest for instance. At the Windy Hill (바람의언덕) sided bridgehead, this is where visitors to the park can view the blossoming trees cluster by the deer ranches to the fullest. The higher level of the bridge will allow you to shoot a good picture of the wavy sea of white flowers below. And thanks to the tight density of the blossoms on each sprawling branch, the framing possibilities are numerous!

Naver Map: Jeonmanggyo Bridge [link]

Now, I hope you are having a greater perspective of cherry blossom season in Seoul Forest. Particularly for the first timer, I wish this post can help save up your time and get you going in the right direction for your springtime visit to Seoul.

And if you are interested in discovering more cherry blossoms spots in Seoul, you probably want to go check out this post too!

Access Map:

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