Herb astronomy Park

By Shim Hyun-chul

Sweet, fresh and fragrant. The scent becomes stronger as visitors walk along a path through a forest.

At the end of the trail, they arrive at the Herb Astronomy Park, filled with colorful petals and sweet smells of a variety of herbs.

The park is the first of its kind in the nation featuring herbs and astronomical themes. Located at Mt. Ilja, bordering Seoul’s Gangdong District and Hanam City, Gyeonggi Province, the park is composed of a herb garden, a medicinal plant garden, a rock garden and more.

There are two observation decks on the east and west sides of the park, for sunrise and sunset, respectively.

At night, colorful lighting in the flooring constitutes 282 constellations, reflecting the sky full of stars above.

This is a 75-meter diameter astronomical chart and visitors can stroll through famed constellations such as Altair and Vega.

In the herb garden, some 41,586 herbs of 167 kinds are planted on a 9,900 square meters site. Various herbs show off their color, texture and fragrance. There is also a greenhouse in the park, offering 120 kinds of herbs, even in winter.