The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to establish the AFoCO Garden at the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show, which will be held at Seoul Forest starting on 1 May 2026.
The MOU signing ceremony took place on 20 February 2026 at the Seoul Metropolitan Government Building and was attended by Mr. Jin Sunpil, Vice Executive Director of AFoCO; Mr. Kim Young-hwan, Director General of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Garden City Bureau; and other relevant stakeholders.
Building on its participation in the 2025 Seoul International Garden Show, where AFoCO created the garden titled “The Spring Grove,” the organization will further expand its collaboration with the Seoul Metropolitan Government by developing a new AFoCO Garden at Seoul Forest in 2026.
The AFoCO Garden to be established at Seoul Forest this year will reflect AFoCO’s core values, highlighting sustainable forests and environmental protection as its main themes while incorporating the unique characteristics of AFoCO Member Parties.
In particular, AFoCO recently established cooperation with France and, together with the Government of the Republic of Korea, has been expanding collaboration with its Member Parties to address climate change and forest-related disasters. The garden will therefore also symbolize international cooperation and shared commitment to protecting forest ecosystems.
Following the exhibition period, the AFoCO Garden will remain as a permanent space, delivering a message on the importance of collective efforts to conserve forest ecosystems in Asia that are increasingly threatened by climate change and human activities. The garden is expected to serve as a symbolic place demonstrating the possibility of harmonious coexistence between nature and society.
- Mr. Jin Sunpil, Vice Executive Director of AFoCO, also emphasized that the establishment of the AFoCO Garden would further strengthen cooperation between AFoCO and the Seoul Metropolitan Government and serve as a meaningful platform to convey the importance of forest conservation and international collaboration to the public.
- Mr. Kim Young-hwan, Director General of the Garden City Bureau of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, expressed his expectations, stating that the garden would showcase AFoCO’s unique characteristics and contribute to raising public awareness on global environmental challenges through the garden.
2026 Seoul International Garden Show
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Contributed by Ms. Sungmin Kim (Assistant Program Officer)