The Seoul Metropolitan Government will host the "2026 Seoul Children's Garden Festival" for two weeks from May 5 to 18 at Seoul Children's Grand Park in Neung-dong, Gwangjin-gu, to mark Family Month. The forest and gardens will be transformed into an outdoor art museum, where children can enjoy hands-on experiences as artists, drawing and creating within the gardens.
According to the city government on Wednesday, this year's festival theme is "Gardens as Museums, Children as Artists." The "Garden Gallery," spanning approximately 300 meters (12,000 square meters) from the back gate to the Octagonal Pavilion, will operate as a single outdoor exhibition hall, with exhibition and viewing areas, experience and creation zones, and rest spaces connected through a grid-style pathway.
In the exhibition space, visitors can view gardens, installation artworks and various events at a glance. The experience and creation zones are designed to let children experience being "kid artists" through art activities and educational programs such as crafting, drawing and coloring. Rest areas for families will be placed throughout the venue.
Beyond the children's specialty gardens, gardens created by various institutions and companies will also be featured. Socially engaged gardens include "Maple Leaf Playground No. 3" with the Nexon Foundation, "Ijaram Garden" by Hana Card and the Credit Card Social Contribution Foundation, "Tomorrow x Together Forest No. 3" created by Melon, "Prunus Garden" by Yegun, and "Color Pixel Garden" and "Flow of the Forest" by Tree City.
Institutional partner gardens will also be created, including the "Sculpture Garden" by the Seoul Museum Division, "A Path Walking on a Painting: Gyeomjae's Canvas" by Gwangjin-gu Office, and "Dreaming Hill" by the National Institute of Ecology. Other themed spaces worth visiting include a mosaic garden tended by citizens, a children's sharing garden designed by children, the Vista Plaza overlooking the back gate landscape, the ginkgo tree-lined "Bank Road," and the welcome garden at the back gate entrance.
The opening ceremony will be held on May 5, Children's Day, at the plaza in front of the Octagonal Pavilion. A Seoul Pops Orchestra performance will open the event, followed by various programs including a live painting performance and children's musical. Experience programs include emotional art experiences for children, five-senses activities and a children's stamp tour visiting major gardens in the park. At the Forest Stage, experience booths related to the "ILLIT Seoul Children's Grand Park Festival" will operate, and 21 works by outstanding artists selected by the Seoul Museum Division will be exhibited around the back gate.
Rich cultural and art programs will continue every weekend during the festival. On May 9-10, a children's crafts experience program linked with the Seoul Museum of Craft Art will operate through the Seoul Public Service Reservation system. On May 9, a marching band performance by "Einsbaum," which brings together youth with and without disabilities, and a "Children's Song Festival" hosted by the Gwangjin Cultural Foundation will be held.
On May 10, the "2026 Seoul Stroller Race," a roughly 5-kilometer circuit starting from Seoul Children's Grand Park and looping around Guui Intersection, will take place. On May 16, a children's picture book concert will be held at Vista Plaza, the "2nd Youth Garden Orchestra Festival" by the Seoul Metropolitan Youth Music Center will take place on the Open Stage, and the outdoor concert "Picnic in Naru" by the Gwangjin Cultural Foundation will be held at the Forest Stage.
On May 16-17, a children's art psychology counseling program with experts will be available through advance reservation. The "Seoul Outdoor Library, Gwangjin Wonderland, Taste Discovery" program will operate every weekend from Children's Day through June 13, providing a space where citizens can relax with books in nature. Detailed schedules and programs can be found on the Seoul Children's Grand Park website.
Through the festival, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to provide opportunities for children to experience nature and art simultaneously while nurturing their creativity and sensitivity, and to establish Seoul Children's Grand Park as a leading family cultural space.
"This festival is a new attempt to expand gardens beyond simple resting spaces into spaces for creation and experience," said Han Kook-young, chairman of the Seoul Facilities Corporation. "We will continue to expand various cultural programs centered on gardens so that children can create special memories."
