14 village gardeners participate, planting lacecap hydrangeas, osmanthus and more
District pushes to spread garden culture through caretaker activities and gardening education
A lush lifestyle garden tended by local residents is coming to a public institution that might otherwise feel stark and uninviting.
Seongbuk-gu held a "village gardener caretaker activity" at the Arirang Cine Center (82 Arirang-ro, Seongbuk-gu) on Monday, creating a lifestyle garden on the second-floor café terrace together with residents.
The initiative was launched to foster a resident-led garden culture and build a sustainable foundation for ongoing garden maintenance. Fourteen graduates of Seongbuk-gu's village gardener program planted a garden suited to the café terrace's character, combining lacecap hydrangeas, osmanthus, rudbeckia and panicle hydrangeas.
The participants plan to continue regular maintenance activities, cultivating the space into a green retreat where residents visiting the public facility can encounter nature and rest in the heart of the city.
Kim Young-hee, a village gardener from Donam 1-dong who took part in the project, said it was meaningful to apply the planting and care techniques she had learned directly to a public space in her community. "I will keep working so that more people can enjoy the pleasure of gardens in their everyday lives," she added.
Seongbuk-gu is working to spread a resident-participatory garden culture through its village gardener training and activity support program. The training course runs once each in the first and second halves of the year, comprising 10 sessions per cohort. It combines classroom instruction — covering tree basics, planting methods and plant care — with hands-on garden design and planting practice.
The district has produced a total of 39 graduates across its first three cohorts, and 20 participants are currently enrolled in the fourth cohort this fall. Graduates contribute to lifestyle gardens across the district through neighborhood garden installations and maintenance, resident-participatory gardening education, and caretaker activities.
Seongbuk-gu's village gardeners also took part in the 2026 Seoul International Garden Expo at Maeheon Citizens' Forest, which opens Thursday. They installed the garden from Sept. 7 to Sept. 16, and carried out signage installation, watering and general upkeep.
Through the 2026 Seongbuk-gu community-building grant program, the gardeners also created a garden inside Odong Neighborhood Park and organized events including a circular-cup garden event at the Jeongneung stream market. At the saemaul library in Gireum 2-dong, they have consistently run a potted-plant workshop using air-purifying plants, keeping up a range of everyday garden activities alongside residents.
Seongbuk-gu plans to continue training village gardeners and offering advanced courses for graduates, developing lifestyle garden specialists and supporting the spread of a resident-led garden culture throughout the district.
Seongbuk-gu District Mayor Lee Seung-ro said gardens tended and cared for by residents are "a precious bridge that adds vitality to public spaces that might otherwise feel bleak and broadens communication among neighbors." He added that the district would continue to expand its resident-led lifestyle garden projects to spread an everyday garden culture across Seongbuk-gu.
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