Seoul Forest, Seoul | May 1, 2026 — The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) is participating in the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show, held from May 1 at Seoul Forest in Seongsu, through the establishment of the “Green Pulse,” AFoCO’s thematic garden developed in partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Following its participation in 2025, AFoCO was officially invited once again to contribute to the Garden Show, further strengthening its collaboration with the host city.
Held under the theme “Seoulryu (The Wave of Seoul),” the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show reflects Seoul’s identity as a city where everyday life, contemporary culture, and historical heritage continuously coexist and evolve. Through the integration of gardens with art, architecture, and popular culture, this year’s Garden Show reinterprets gardens beyond traditional forms and presents them as open cultural platforms extending from parks into the urban landscape.
The 2026 edition is the largest and longest-running Seoul International Garden Show to date, featuring 167 gardens across approximately 90,000㎡ centered around Seoul Forest and extending throughout Seongdong-gu, Gwangjin-gu, and the Han River area. Through a wide range of artistic gardens and public programs created by designers, institutions, companies, and citizens, the Garden Show seeks to promote the vision of a sustainable “5-minute garden city,” where gardens become an integral part of everyday urban life.
As part of this vision, AFoCO presents “Green Pulse,” a thematic garden designed to reflect the organization’s role and values in promoting climate action, carbon circulation, and sustainable forest management. The garden is organized into three thematic zones — Warm, Wet, and Dry — representing the diverse climate and forest conditions faced by AFoCO member countries across Asia.
Inspired by the theme “Seoulryu (The Wave of Seoul),” the garden incorporates symbolic landscape elements and installations that allow visitors to intuitively experience the role of forests and ecological resilience within an urban setting. In particular, the deer sculpture and the wooden deck pathways were created using fire-damaged wood, symbolizing both the vulnerability and resilience of forest ecosystems under the growing threats of climate change and wildfires. By reusing fire-damaged wood throughout the garden landscape, “Green Pulse” conveys the message that even forests affected by disaster can still be sustainably utilized as valuable resources, while reminding visitors of the forests that must be protected for future generations.
Drawing inspiration from peatlands and grasslands that quietly store carbon beneath the ground and sustain the climate like a subtle pulse of life, “Green Pulse” reflects the unseen ecological functions of forests and landscapes that support life on Earth. At the same time, the garden symbolically represents the climate-related challenges currently faced by AFoCO member countries, conveying a shared message on the importance of forest conservation, ecological resilience, and international cooperation in responding to climate change.
AFoCO’s delegation, led by Vice Executive Director Mr. Jin Sunpil, attended the opening ceremony alongside AFoCO Secretariat staff and Fellowship officials, commemorating AFoCO’s second consecutive participation in the Seoul International Garden Show.
Beyond its role as an exhibition space, “Green Pulse” also reflects AFoCO’s expanding international cooperation in addressing climate change and forest-related disasters. Following the recent establishment of a cooperation framework with France, AFoCO has been strengthening collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Korea and its member countries to enhance climate resilience and forest disaster prevention efforts across the region.
“Participating in the Seoul International Garden Show for the second consecutive year is a meaningful opportunity for AFoCO to further strengthen its partnership with the Seoul Metropolitan Government while engaging citizens on the importance of forests and climate resilience,” said Mr. Jin Sunpil, Vice Executive Director of AFoCO. “Through ‘Green Pulse,’ we hope to convey the value of sustainable forest management and international cooperation in addressing the growing challenges of climate change and forest-related disasters.”
The 2026 Seoul International Garden Show will run from May 1 to October 27 at Seoul Forest and surrounding areas in Seoul. Through “Green Pulse,” AFoCO aims to provide citizens with an accessible and symbolic space to reflect on the importance of forests, climate resilience, and international cooperation in addressing the growing climate crisis.
For more information on the AFoCO Garden and other participating gardens at the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show, please visit the official Seoul International Garden Show page
Watch the video highlights of “Green Pulse.”
Contributed by Sungmin Kim, Assistant Program Officer, Project Team 1 (ODA Project)