The garden beat out about 20 entries to claim the top honor, validating Seongbuk-gu's park renewal efforts. A 2,000-square-meter stretch of aging concrete waterway was transformed into an ecological and cultural garden, restoring value to a long-neglected space.
Mulbit Garden, a water-themed ecological park built by Seongbuk-gu in Odong Neighborhood Park, has won the grand prize at the 5th Seoul Metropolitan Government Landscape Architecture Awards, earning official recognition for the district's park renewal efforts.
The Seoul Landscape Architecture Awards honor outstanding landscape spaces that improve the urban environment in aesthetic, functional and ecological terms. About 20 entries competed this year, and only five were selected as winners — with Seongbuk-gu's Mulbit Garden claiming the top prize.
Covering about 2,000 square meters, Mulbit Garden was created to address a shortage of water-accessible green space in the Wolgok and Jangwi residential areas. A long-deteriorated concrete waterway and rocky slope were transformed into a water-friendly garden featuring an ecological stream, a wall waterfall, a moss garden and nectar-producing plants.
Beyond simple facility upgrades, the project drew praise for restoring the ecological value of idle land left neglected along walking paths. Mulbit Garden is organically connected to the Odong Forest Library, a forest experience center for young children, a healing forest trail and a barrier-free walking path, making it a composite ecological and cultural space where residents can enjoy rest, culture and nature in one place.
The top prize was seen as validation of Seongbuk-gu's park policy, which converted an underused space into a daily retreat and ecological and cultural hub for residents. The garden received particularly high marks for simultaneously achieving natural environment conservation, improved resident accessibility and integration with the area's cultural and experiential infrastructure.
Seongbuk-gu plans to build on the award by developing Mulbit Garden into a signature local park destination. The district will expand resident participation events and ecological and cultural programs while continuing to improve the park environment, with the goal of making nature and culture accessible to all residents in their everyday lives.
District Mayor Lee Seung-ro said Mulbit Garden "completely transformed an aging concrete waterway and underused space into an ecological and cultural space for residents," adding that the district would "develop it into a signature water-friendly destination in Seongbuk-gu that more residents will visit and cherish, building on this top prize from the Seoul Metropolitan Government."
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