Sometimes, the pictures don’t do a place justice.

This was the verdict of the Garden of Morning Calm (아침고요수목원 – a-chim go-yo su-mok-won) – a beautiful place on a beautiful day had more awesome than my camera could handle.

Professor Han Sang-kyung at Sahmyook University first conceived the garden as a world-famous Korean garden. The oldest privately-owned Korean garden in the country, the inspiration comes from an Indian poet that described Korea during the Qing dynasty as the “Land of the Morning Calm”.

I understand why the place attracts 600,000 tourists annually, Peaceful, graceful, and surprisingly quiet without being quaint, the garden’s 20 themes and 4,500 kinds of plants are spread across 330,000 square meters (81.5 acres). In other words, there’s enough room to spread out and get away from the noisy kids.

Not far from a rustic Korean restaurant is this fine (and large) example of bonsai.

A quaint little church from yesteryear – foreign to, yet peacefully part of, the Korean garden,

Inside the tiny church (take your shoes off to step inside). The wide-angle lens makes it look bigger than it really is. The four tiny pews are the only places to sit, however.

Whether intended as such as not, the sprinklers managed to water the sidewalk, making getting through a matter of timing. A few Korean couples mistimed it, getting a little wet in the process. It’s a sprinkler, not a firehose, and people learned the next time around.

Simply gorgeous – and not a tall building in sight.

Looking back down towards the open area from a bench amidst the flowers.

A number of rock statues along the slow-moving river.

If you’re not already making plans to visit this area, I’d like to check you for a pulse. This is quite simply one of the most beautiful places I’ve had the pleasure of visiting, bar none.

Ratings (out of 5 taeguks): How do I rate destinations?
Ease to arrive:

Foreigner-friendly:

Convenience facilities:

Worth the visit:

Directions to the Garden of Morning Calm: get to the Gyeongchun line of the Seoul subway system – it connects to line 7 at Sangbong station. Take the Gyeongchun line to Cheongpyeong station. Take exit 1 to street level, then head to the bus terminal. Take a left to the T, then turn right. At the 1st major intersection take a left and look for the biggest building around. It’s about a 600 meter walk in all, and buses leave for the garden at

Taxis are also available just outside of exit 1. They’ll take about 25-30 minutes and cost 16,000-17,000 won – pretty expensive considering there’s a bus that goes pretty regularly. Open 8am-8:30pm (April-October) or 9am-8:30pm (November-March), 8,000 won admission per adult (cheaper for kids or during the off-season). Lockers available just inside the entrance for 500 or 1,000 won.

© Chris Backe – 2011
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