Seoul honors outstanding community gardens, urban landscapes in annual awards

Seoul honored five landscape architecture projects and 23 neighborhood gardening groups at City Hall this week in its annual urban design awards. Namsan Sky Forest Trail won the top Landscape Architecture Award and a new citizens’ choice prize, while a traffic-island garden, corporate volunteer projects and other community gardens were also recognized. Seoul will display the winning gardens at Seoul Forest’s Cleo Hall from Tuesday through Sept. 19.

The Landscape Architecture Award is in its fifth year, while the Garden City Award is in its 14th year.

Namsan Sky Forest Trail is a 1.65-kilometer accessible walking path on the southern slope of Mount Nam.

The trail received 2,889 votes out of 9,654 cast in a two-week public poll in June.

The exhibition at Seoul Forest’s Cleo Hall will include designer talks and guided site visits through Sept. 18.

Corporate volunteer groups from Porsche Korea and Hyundai Engineering Co. received a special award with the Seoul Green Trust.

Published Sep 8, 2026 1:31 pm KST

Namsan Sky Forest Trail / Yonhap

In a city better known for sleek skyscrapers than green canopies, Seoul celebrated a new wave of urban design this week, awarding five major landscape architecture projects and 23 neighborhood gardening groups that are bringing nature back to the capital's streets.

Seoul's deputy mayor for administrative affairs and the chair of the city council's environment and water resources committee attended the ceremony at City Hall, along with about 280 guests from the landscaping and gardening fields.

The Landscape Architecture Award, now in its fifth year, went to Namsan Sky Forest Trail, a 1.65-kilometer accessible walking path built on the southern slope of Mount Nam, Seoul's central mountain, that connects previously disconnected pedestrian routes while preserving the forest's ecology.

The project also won a new citizens' choice prize, drawing the most votes — 2,889 of 9,654 cast — in a two-week public poll in June. A water garden built into a neighborhood park's aging concrete channel took the top runner-up prize, while three other projects, including a children's forest playground and a converted flower garden in Mullae-dong, received merit awards.

The Garden City Award, marking its 14th year, recognized citizen groups that have built and maintained gardens in everyday spaces such as alleys, rooftops and traffic islands. The top prize went to a group that turned a neglected traffic island into a community garden, while two neighborhood "village gardener" associations took runner-up honors. Corporate volunteer groups from Porsche Korea, together with the Seoul Green Trust, and Hyundai Engineering Co. also received a special award for employee-led garden projects.

Seoul will host a related exhibition on the winning gardens at Seoul Forest's Cleo Hall from Tuesday through Sept. 19, along with designer talks and guided site visits through Sept. 18.

“The award-winning spaces and gardens this year are the invaluable result of efforts to bring green spaces closer to citizens’ daily lives — from mountain foothills to neighborhood alleyways,” said Kim Young-hwan, director general of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Garden City Bureau.

“I extend my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to the winners for creating such beautiful transformations across Seoul.”

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.

本周，首尔市政府举行年度城市设计奖颁奖典礼，表彰了五个景观建筑项目和23个社区园艺团体。南山天空森林步道荣获最高景观建筑奖和新增的市民选择奖，此外，交通岛花园、企业志愿者项目和其他社区花园也获得了认可。首尔将于周二至9月19日在首尔森林的克莱奥厅展出获奖花园。

景观建筑奖已举办五年，而花园城市奖已举办十四年。

南山天空森林步道是位于南山南坡的一条1.65公里长的无障碍步行道。

在 6 月份为期两周的公众投票中，该路线获得了 9654 票中的 2889 票。

首尔森林公园克莱奥厅的展览将持续到 9 月 18 日，期间将举办设计师讲座和导览参观活动。

保时捷韩国公司和现代工程公司的企业志愿者团体获得了首尔绿色信托基金颁发的特别奖。

发布于2026年9月8日下午1:31（韩国标准时间）

南山天空森林步道 / 韩联社

首尔这座以摩天大楼闻名的城市，远胜于绿树成荫的城市，本周迎来了城市设计的新浪潮，表彰了五个主要的景观建筑项目和 23 个社区园艺团体，这些团体正在将自然带回首都的街道。

首尔市行政事务副市长兼市议会环境水资源委员会主席出席了在市政厅举行的仪式，约有 280 位来自园林绿化领域的嘉宾出席。

景观建筑奖今年已是第五届，获奖者是南山天空森林步道，这是一条 1.65 公里长的无障碍步行道，建在首尔中心山脉南山的南坡上，连接了以前不相连的步行路线，同时保护了森林的生态环境。

该项目还荣获了一项新的市民选择奖，在6月份为期两周的公众投票中获得了最多选票——在9654张选票中获得了2889张。一个建在社区公园老旧混凝土水道中的水景花园获得了亚军，而包括儿童森林游乐场和文来洞改造后的花园在内的其他三个项目获得了优秀奖。

今年是“花园城市奖”举办的第14届，该奖项旨在表彰在巷道、屋顶、交通岛等日常空间建造和维护花园的市民团体。最高奖项颁给了将废弃交通岛改造成社区花园的团体，两个社区“乡村园丁”协会荣获亚军。保时捷韩国公司与首尔绿色信托基金会以及现代工程公司合作的企业志愿者团体也因其员工主导的花园项目而获得特别奖。

首尔将于周二至 9 月 19 日在首尔森林公园的克莱奥大厅举办获奖花园的相关展览，同时还将举办设计师讲座和导览参观活动，直至 9 月 18 日。

“今年获奖的绿地和花园是努力将绿色空间拉近市民日常生活——从山麓到街区小巷——的宝贵成果，”首尔市政府花园城市局局长金永焕表示。

“我衷心祝贺并感谢获奖者们，他们为首尔带来了如此美丽的改变。”

本文由生成式人工智能协助发布，并由《韩国时报》编辑。