The traditional Korean garden “Hae-dong-gyeong-gi-won”opened in Yuexiu Park in Guangzhou, China on December 12 swarms with visitors, who show a highly favorable response, according to broadcasting stations in the city and Koreans in China. 

Guangzhou Broadcast Station reported that about 15,000 people paid visits to the Korean garden on a weekday, which increased to 25,000 on Saturday and Sunday, saying that the park authorities went so far as to limit the number of visitors in an effort to protect the facilities amid the explosive popularity of the garden among Chinese visitors. 

The Korean Consulate General in Guangzhou reported that Koreans in China were very happy about the opening of the garden, saying, “We are grateful to the Gyeonggi Provincial Office for providing an opportunity for Koreans in China to think about the home country again and be united as one. The Consulate General and Korean associations in the region will do our best to take good care of the garden.” 

It is reported that Chinese visitors to the garden say, “Compared to its Chinese counterparts, the Korean garden enables us to feel the soft and pure touch, as it harmonizes with natural surroundings well. And the flower-decorated fence and gates located between sections of a house exudes a fascinating and mysterious atmosphere.” 

The traditional Korean garden built on a two-acre site houses pavilions and adopts the nation’s unique building pattern. It was completed after two years of work, employing manpower and materials sent from Korea, with the budget of about KRW3.4 billion. It was designed in consideration of the local climate, topography and landscaping conditions and to convey Korea’s unique cultural characteristics. 

In 2002, Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu and then Guangdong Provincial Governor Lu Ruihua agreed to build a traditional garden in a suitable location in each other’s province, i.e. in Suwon, Korea, and Guangzhou, China, as part of an effort for exchange of friendship. 

Thus, following the completion of the work for the Korean garden in Guangdong Province, a traditional Chinese garden named Yuahuayuan, which will display the unique pattern of gardens in Huanan region, will be opened in Hyowon Park in Suwon in April 2006. The two traditional gardens are expected to play the role of arenas for cultural exchanges between people in the two provinces.