Back in May, when roses were blooming EVERYWHERE in Seoul, I wanted to find someplace a little off the beathen path. There were bigger events and festivals around, and maybe next year I’ll visit those, but for now, I just wanted something gentler.

One thing about Seoul is there no end to the events and activities, many of which are free. But even with So Many Options, because there are also So Many People, the more publicized and well-known events/places are always PACKED.

I always prefer Getting There When It Opens. Having a garden, museum, restaurant practically to myself is a small price to pay for getting up and out early.

So on May 19, 2024, I did just that. Got myself up and out early. I was at my Uber pick-up spot at 8:16am. I’d plotted my route options the night before, and as my knee was still a little wonky, and this rose village seemed to be in an out-of-the-way spot, I opted for Uber.

The closest thing to a rose I saw where I was dropped off.

18 minutes later I was dropped…in the middle of who-knows-where. The driver did the usual sweeping arm gesture as if to say “there it is.” But…I was just in a sort of industrial looking area next to a highway. I took a deep breath, wished him a gamsahamnida (thank you) and got out. He sat there for about two minutes so I walked off confidently as if I knew exactly where I was going.

I did not. When I checked my Naver (Korea’s Google) map, it showed I was walking the wrong way. I took a look around to make sure the driver was gone…and turned around, and walked a little less confidently in the other direction.

This area did NOT look like where one would find a charming rose-laden street. But just a short walk later, There She Was! Cheong-dong Rose Village!

The term “village” is a bit of a misnomer. It’s really one narrow street, more of an alleyway, between houses on both sides. So, while on paper it doesn’t sound like much, once I got my first look down the rose lane, I was glad I’d come.

Going down the whole length of the lane (and I don’t know what exactly constitutes a “lane,” but in my mind, this was exactly that) were arched metal arbors spanning the width of the walkway. And they were covered with lush climbing roses. I couldn’t help but smile.

Back in the pre-Katie days, and I would visit my lovely sister in Anodover, Mass…and she would visit me on Long Island, and we loved going on garden tours in the summer. Always one of our favorite “specimens” was climbing roses. We had a whole thing about a climbing rose called New Dawn that all the garden books and plant catalogs described as a repeat bloomer…but we both had it, and neither of us ever got more than a couple repeat blooms ;-( It became a little joke between us – everytime we saw something referred to as a repeat bloomer, we’d be like, “Yeah. Right. Okay.”

Another rose reference I have for my sister is before Katie was born, or maybe when she was still little, I can’t remember exactly, my sister thought her aunt name should be Auntie Pookie Rose. I think she had some reference from her teens where she was called Rose…I can’t remember that exactly, but…I loved the idea of Auntie Pookie Rose. Sadly, it didn’t quite take off and Katie has always just called her Aunt Wendy.

ANYWAY, because of all the rose memories I have with my sister, I am dedicating this post to her. Wendy, I hope you enjoy the rose pictures and remember our days of visiting gardens (we even visited Martha Stewart’s Westhampton garden once) together. I love you 🙂

We will now return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Right at the entrance to the lane was a marker that read (as best I can translate) “Our alleyway that we cultivated with our own hands, “Cheon-ho Lantern Rose Village.” And it appears the street won a second-place award in 2019 for “Flowering Seoul Award,” and the area was certified as “Cheonho-dong Rose Village.”

So this is something the community worked on together. There were planter boxes lining the walls on both sides, rose arbors, the occasional planter grouping or cute bicycle…and all along the way, lines and pictures from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupere, a very favorite book of mine. In fact, seeing the lines here in Korean, inspired me to find a Korean copy to try to read.

I slowly walked along the path, admiring the roses…taking pictures…but being quiet to avoid disturbing the citizens. Two ahjummas (older women) sat on a bench chatting about halfway down the lane. They watched me with neutral faces until I bowed my head and said anyasheyo (hello), and then they were all smiles. I said ahdumduwhoayo, which means beautiful…and then they beamed as if I was their best friend 🙂

I will say, ANY attempt at speaking their language, no matter how bad or fumbling you are, goes a long way as far as how welcoming people are to you. So if you’re planning a visit, try to learn at least a few phrases (hello, thank you, etc) before coming.

The most important things are invisible to the eye.

The walls and little prince murals were a little faded, but I loved that. I think things that are a little time-worn and “used,” are so much more charming.

I walked to the end…then slowly worked my way back, taking pictures all along the way. A third woman had joined the other two. She had her little dog in a stroller. A very common sight in Seoul. At the beginning of the year when there were many news stories about the very low birth rate in Korea, a tangential story was that in 2023 more dog strollers were bought than baby strollers 🙂  Dog Mom and I said hello, I said anyong! (casual hello) to the little dog, and continued on my way.

When I got back to the entrance I tried to take some selfies but without a tripod I am not good at that.

I was only there for 40 minutes, and other than the neighbor ladies, I’d been the only one there the whole time. Just as I turned the corner to leave, I passed two young men carrying camera gear, and a lovely young woman in a beautiful dress. I’m certain they were there for a photo shoot with the roses.

I can imagine this quiet spot gets very busy during the few weeks of full bloom, with photographers, models, and content creators looking for that perfect shot. I hope everyone is respectful of the fact that while this street is open to the public, it is still a street of private homes.

It turns out there’s a bus stop right near by, so bus would have been a fine way to get there.

I was home by 9:10am! Before the real heat hit…and certainly before All the People were out! That’s a good day to me – a little adventure in the morning, then home before the world gets hot and crowded. Go back out late in the day when the sun is setting.

I really enjoyed Cheonho-dong Rose Village, and I hope you liked going along for the ride.