38 new appointees in the 11th and 12th cohorts bring the total to 227 village gardeners, all of whom completed a 10-week training program in garden management theory and practice
Seoul's Seongdong-gu said it has appointed 38 new village gardeners — residents who plan, plant and tend gardens across the district — bringing the total to 227 and launching a broader push to embed garden culture into everyday life.
The district held an appointment ceremony for the 11th and 12th cohorts of village gardeners on June 5 at the Seongdong Gardening Center.
With the new appointments, the Seongdong-gu village gardener program has expanded to 227 members, who will work alongside residents as a garden community helping to build what the district calls "Garden City Seongdong."
The newly appointed 11th and 12th cohort members completed a 10-week training program that ran from April 3 through June 5.
The curriculum combined classroom instruction and hands-on field work. Theoretical sessions covered garden planning and maintenance by garden type, plant identification and care, and garden design. Practical training included planting and pruning at the "Gardener's Yard" inside the Yongbi Rest Garden along Jungnangcheon stream, as well as a field visit to the 2026 Seoul International Garden Expo alongside garden docents and citizen gardeners.
The Seongdong-gu village gardener program is a resident-led garden community the district has been building since 2024. Going beyond simple garden creation, members have maintained spaces in ways that reflect each season and site, carefully tending spots that residents once passed without a second glance so that visitors can fully enjoy the gardens no matter when they arrive.
This year, the 11th and 12th cohort members will work alongside earlier cohorts to take dedicated charge of key everyday gardens across four zones of Seongdong-gu. They plan to participate in seasonal maintenance — watering, weeding and clearing spent flower stalks — as well as garden creation, and to lead efforts to spread garden culture together with residents.
Starting this year, Seongdong-gu will also run regular monthly group sessions to strengthen the skills and community ties of its village gardeners. Through these sessions, the district aims to foster a culture in which residents take the lead in tending and caring for gardens, and to build a more sustainable foundation for the garden community.
"Village gardeners are carefully tending gardens in the spaces closest to residents' daily lives, connecting nature with people and people with one another, and giving the city a warmer face," a district official said. "We hope many people will take an interest and join the village gardener training program planned for the second half of the year."
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