The city government of Suncheon, Jeollanam-do Province, on March 28 announced that it will host this year's Suncheonman International Garden Expo at Suncheonman Bay National Garden and Suncheonman Bay Wetland Reserve from April 1 to Oct. 31. Shown is the event's pre-opening site on March 25.

By Israa Mohamed
Photos = 2023 Suncheonman International Garden Expo's official Facebook page

The Suncheonman International Garden Expo will be held for the first time in 10 years.

The city government of Suncheon, Jeollanam-do Province, on March 29 said it will host the event from April 1 to Oct. 31 at Suncheonman Bay National Garden and Suncheonman Bay Wetland Reserve.

The expo is officially recognized by the Korean government and International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH). Suncheon hosted the inaugural event in 2013 and its second edition will come a decade later.

The theme of this year's event is "Live in the Garden" and in the spirit of this slogan, the expo will showcase new gardens closer to human life and located deeper in cities that serve as liberation areas for all people and animals.

The city said this year's expo will cover an area of 1.93 million square m, the size of 234 soccer fields and twice as large as the last edition's. An estimated 2.5 million flowers of 120 types and 828,700 trees of 446 types were planted for the occasion.

For the first time, Garden Dream Boats (unofficial translation) will transport visitors to Dongcheon Stream, which crosses the city's old downtown to reach Suncheonman Bay. Four vessels will each accommodate a maximum of 12 passengers and one up to 20 from near a ferry dock at Suncheon Station to the Suncheon Lake Garden inside Suncheonman Bay National Garden.

The 1.03 km-long road near the exhibition that starts from Dongcheon Reservoir and reaches the south gate was transformed into Green Island by filling it with soil and laying grass. The so-called Garden Stay, or overnight lodging, is also available at the garden for KRW 450,000-KRW 570,000 per night.

The city on March 29 said a flood of ticket purchases and donations from businesses, welfare agencies and social groups came ahead of the expo's opening, with ticket reservations exceeding KRW 6 billion in value. 

A preopening event is held on March 25 ahead of the launch of this year's Suncheonman International Garden Expo.

Tickets to the expo can be purchased on websites such as Interpark, Yanolja and Naver and their apps. The event's official website (https://scbay.suncheon.go.kr/expo/#) and branches of NongHyup Bank and Gwangju Bank also sell them.  

ess8@korea.kr