Beartree Park is one of the most beautiful natural space sites I’ve visited in South Korea. The park is less than a 20-minutes by taxi from Jochiwon, making it ideal for a day vacation! It’s suitable for couples, groups of friends, or even families with children. This is all you need to know before visiting Beartree Park in Sejong City, South Korea!
Beartree Park is basically a part botanical garden/zoo. The park contains eight distinct gardens, as well as numerous greenhouses, ponds, and viewpoints. You could easily spend an afternoon entire walking through the various gardens. At the top of the hill is an observation tower that offers an incredible view of the entire park.
One fun thing to do in the park is to see how many bear statues you can find! You will find most of them in the ‘Bear Sculpture Park’, but there are also many scattered throughout the park. The statues are meant to tell the story of a young bear as he grows up. You’ll find a statue of a young bear playing with a slingshot and jumping rope with his friends and even a statue of a grown-up bear on his wedding day!
The greenhouses at Beartree Park are enjoyable because each one is filled with various plants and flowers. One greenhouse even boasts a variety of cactus, a little desert right here in South Korea! Keep an eye out in the greenhouses because many of them have hidden decorations in the blooms (such as a bear shape in the succulents!).
If you are interested in gardening your own garden, there are many different experience programs available throughout the year. You can make your own plant pot or even decorate a piece of pottery. Just go to the ‘Teddy Bear Shop’ near the entrance where the experience is held. There are also several photo booths in the museum! There are some flower walls and, of course, lots of teddy bears to use as props!
Let’s see the animals in Beartree Park!!
To be honest, I didn’t even know there were actual animals in this park before I came! I got the impression that it was just a botanical garden, not a zoo. As happy as I am to see the animals, I am also deeply saddened to see animals like a large grizzly bear confined in a small concrete cage. I’ll let you decide if this is something you want to support or not. Just for the gardens, the park is well worth a visit.
There are several types of bears in the park (grizzly bear, black bear, and cub). Around 1000-2000 KRW (about 1 USD), you can buy a cup of carrots that you can feed to the bear. They will eagerly welcome you and ask for gifts. If you are travelling with kids, they will love it! Make sure you don’t feed the bear anything other than what is provided. They’ll happily take whatever you have, but that doesn’t mean they have to!
In addition to bears, there are reindeer, guinea pigs, rabbits, and many kinds of birds (peacocks, parrots, ducks, and more!) in the park’s ‘Pet Garden’ section. No matter where you are in the park, you can often hear peacocks and birds chirping.
Another thing not to miss is the Koi fish that may be found in the park’s ponds. In Korea, Koi fish are regarded as a symbol of richness and energy and are supposed to bring good fortune to all visitors. If you want to feed the fish, you can get some at the park’s entrance.
Restaurant in Beartree Park
- Welcome House Restaurant
The Welcome House Restaurant is located on the Welcome House’s second floor. It’s a Western-style restaurant that serves delicious pizza, steaks, and pasta. It’s the ideal spot for lunch during your visit.
- Beartree Cafe
The ‘Bear Sculpture Park’ is immediately close to the Beartree Cafe. If you’re searching for something sweet (they have fantastic desserts here! ), this is the place to go for a cool beverage.