Garden of Morning Calm, Botanical garden in Gapyeong, South Korea

The Garden of Morning Calm is an arboretum on a hillside in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It covers 330,000 m² and holds about 5,000 plant species, including 750 wildflower species and 800 iris species. Its 22 themed sections include a Korean garden with 38 peony varieties and a mugunghwa garden with 200 hibiscus varieties. A mown lawn with a rope-fenced path and a large boulder sits near the entrance.

A professor from Sahmyook University purchased barren stone land in 1994 and began transforming it into the garden that opened in 1996. Since its establishment, the collection of native Korean plants has continued to expand.

The name refers to Korea's historical title as the Land of Morning Calm, reflecting traditional Korean design principles throughout the space. Visitors experience these principles in how plants are arranged and how each section is laid out.

The garden is divided into walkable sections, each offering different blooming periods throughout the year. Plan your visit based on the season you prefer, as spring brings cherry blossoms, summer displays hydrangeas, autumn shows chrysanthemums, and winter features light installations.

The garden was conceived in 1992 by Han San-kyung, a horticulture professor at Sahmyook University, and his wife; they designed and built it largely themselves. When money ran short, the couple sold their house and moved into a small home on the garden grounds. It opened to the public on May 11, 1996, with ten themed sections, a number that had grown to 22 by 2024.