Gardens of Memory and Recovery: National Arboretum Transforms Old Bear Enclosure and Reveals 350-Year Chestnut in Gwangneung Forest
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
At South Korea’s National Arboretum in Gwangneung Forest, two new gardens invite reflection on nature, memory and recovery. “The Place Where the Bear Left: Garden of the Forest” repurposes a former bear enclosure (used from 1991–2017) without erasing its history — rusted bars, paw marks and a photo of an Asiatic black bear remain, while native plants, mosses and fungi now occupy the space to symbolize both confinement and renewal. The design encourages slow, attentive viewing and aims to foster respect for the forest. The larger “Secret Garden” creates a subtle transition from planted fir stands to old-growth woodland, revealing a 350-year-old chestnut tree along a deliberately winding path. Interpretive signs highlight interdependence among species and the idea of “coexistence,” and a Seoul National University professor likened the garden’s restraint to Pyongyang naengmyeon (a Korean cold noodle dish) — focused on essentials rather than embellishment. Both projects are part of a public-garden initiative to restore abandoned land ecologically and to remind visitors that humans are not the only stewards of the forest.
