The Korea Expressway Corporation is hosting the 2026 Garden Design Competition to promote garden culture based on the creative ideas of the public. Selected designs will be implemented at the Jeonju Arboretum, with a total prize pool of 7.4 million won.
On June 23, the Korea Expressway Corporation announced that applications for the competition, themed "Sustainable Roads, Meeting Gardens to Open the Future," will be accepted from August 4 to 13.
The competition will be divided into two categories: the general category, open to all citizens, and the aspiring landscape architects category, aimed at high school students studying landscape architecture and horticulture.
Through a preliminary review, six designs will be selected: five from the general category and one from the aspiring landscape architects category. Each selected participant will receive 3 million won for garden establishment, based on a plot size of 12 square meters, and will create their gardens at the Jeonju Arboretum.
Winners will be announced at the 2026 Korea Expressway Corporation Garden Expo on September 15. The awards include one grand prize of 2 million won, two excellence awards of 1.5 million won each, and three merit awards of 800,000 won each, totaling 7.4 million won. Winning designs will be exhibited at the Jeonju Arboretum for one year.
Those interested in participating can download the application form from the Korea Expressway Corporation's website and submit it via email.
A representative from the Korea Expressway Corporation stated, "The Jeonju Arboretum is operated free of charge as part of our ESG management practices and has become a local attraction, drawing an average of 700,000 visitors annually over the past five years. We hope for widespread interest and participation so that the public's creative ideas can enrich the ecological space of the arboretum."
Meanwhile, the Korea Expressway Corporation is supporting local artists by hosting a special exhibition featuring artists from the Gimcheon area at its headquarters in Gimcheon, which began on June 22 and will run until July 3.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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