Sayuwon
A reservation-only mountain garden in Gunwi built from old transplanted trees, steep terrain and architecture by Álvaro Siza, Seung H-Sang and other designers
Landscape architecture, old tree collections, contemporary architecture, slow walking and quiet half-day visits
A large, steep mountain garden explored mostly on foot, with dispersed groves, pavilions and viewpoints reached through a reservation system
Sayuwon feels accumulated rather than master-planned: old trees arrived first, architecture followed over years, and the garden’s strongest moments come from finding each pavilion or grove within a much larger mountain landscape
Character
Sayuwon began with old trees. The collection grew through years of transplanting mature crape myrtles, pines, hornbeams and quince trees into a mountain site in Gunwi; buildings by major architects were added among them later
One group became especially important. Pungseol Gicheonyeon contains 108 old quince trees, assembled from specimens collected over many years and arranged by landscape architect Jung Young-sun. VISITKOREA traces the garden’s origin story to the founder saving a quince tree that was about to be shipped away
Architecture enters the garden as another collected layer. Álvaro Siza, Seung H-Sang, Choi Wook and other designers contributed individual buildings rather than one dominant complex. Their work appears between groves, stonework and long views across the surrounding mountains
The experience
Sayuwon is too large and steep to behave like a compact botanical garden. A full visit takes roughly three hours, and much of that time is spent moving between places rather than circulating around one central attraction
That distance is part of the pleasure. A pavilion can disappear behind trees and slope, then arrive as a separate encounter. Hyeonam frames the landscape from one position; other structures turn inward toward courtyards, water or planting. The architecture matters, but it rarely overwhelms the older trees around it
The garden also rewards looking at individual specimens rather than only the overall scenery. Mature quince, crape myrtle and pine trees carry the physical irregularities of age that a newly planted landscape cannot reproduce quickly. Sayuwon’s long development period is visible in those trunks before it is explained by a date
History
The present site was acquired in 2006. Tree transplantation followed in stages from 2009 onward, with crape myrtles, pines, hornbeams, quince trees and later other collections brought into the mountain terrain
Architecture developed alongside the landscape rather than after a finished garden plan. Hyeonam was completed in 2013; the site was registered as Bugye Arboretum in 2017, and Sayuwon opened to visitors in September 2021 under an advance-reservation system
The result is a garden whose chronology remains readable. Some of its identity comes from botanical collecting, some from landscape design, and some from architecture inserted into terrain that had already been shaped by years of planting
Before you go
The reservation shapes the visit itself. Admission is limited, the last entry is early in the afternoon, and the operator expects visitors to spend substantial time on foot
The steep terrain is a real constraint. Sayuwon warns that wheelchair, crutch and cane users may have difficulty, and children aged seven and under are not admitted. Public transport is possible, but driving or a taxi is much simpler than the remaining walk from local bus stops
- Hours
- Sayuwon operates Tuesday-Sunday 09:00-18:00; last admission is 15:00. It closes Mondays and on Seollal and Chuseok day
- Admission
- Standard admission is 50,000 won for adults and 45,000 won for teenagers on weekdays; 69,000 won and 62,000 won respectively on weekends and public holidays
- Access
- Advance reservation is the normal system. Most of the garden is steep and covered on foot; the operator warns that wheelchair, crutch and cane users may have difficulty. Children aged seven and under are not admitted, and minors must be accompanied by a guardian
- Transit
- The closest listed bus option is Express 9-2 to Changpyeong 2-ri, about a 500-metre walk from Sayuwon; other routes require longer walks. Driving or taxi is simpler