Korean garden

In recent years, 300 documents have been found, written during the Koryo (918–1392) and Choson (1392–1910) dynasties, that contain detailed records about traditional Korean gardens, many of which survive and can be visited today.

In prehistoric times, Koreans worshipped nature, the sun, stars, water, rocks, stones, and trees.

During the Three Kingdoms period (57 BC – 668 AD), palace gardens were erected on a grand scale with stones.

Sites are chosen in favor of the energy flow called pungsu 풍수, geomancy which affects all aspects of life including health, wealth, and happiness.

The gardens can be found enclosed within walls of stone or brick or can blend seamlessly into its surroundings without a barrier.

Stylized flowers and blossoms that hold great symbolism, such as the Sacred Lotus and plum blossoms, are painted onto Buddhist temples, royal tombs, and palace pavilions in bright yet harmonious colors; a style called dancheong 단청, or “red and blue/green.”[3] Traditional spiritual and philosophical symbolism can be found throughout Korean gardens; Shamanistic, Animist, Buddhist, Daoist, and Confucian influences along with homage to the Dangun Creation story are often simultaneously represented.

From the clear symbols such as stylized decorations painted on pavilions and buildings, to the use of colors and the number and types of trees, rocks, ponds, and plants, all Korean gardens hold a significance of beauty aesthetically, culturally, and spiritually.

Jill Mathews, author of Korean Gardens, writes, “… their fruit starts off hard, green, and extremely bitter but ripens to a bright orange and becomes very soft and sweet…”[3] Korean Red Pine: Symbolizes loyalty, constancy, and righteousness.

There are traditional Korean gardens in the Chapultepec Zoo in Mexico City; Gençlik Park in Ankara, Turkey; in Cairo, Egypt; le Jardin d'Acclimatation de Paris; Erholungspark Marzahn in Berlin;[5] Grüneburgpark in Frankfurt; and at the VanDusen Botanical Garden in Vancouver, Canada.