North Seoul Dream Forest
Dream Forest is a large park located in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, situated near Mia and Mia Sageori stations on Line 4 of the Seoul subway network. It officially opened in October of 2009. For local residents, it’s an excellent spot for exercise, dog walking, and relaxation. Non-local visitors are drawn to the park’s observatory tower, its arts center, and a historical site that is a registered Cultural Heritage.
History
Dream Forest is located on the slopes of two hills, Opaesan and Byeogosan. Before 1987, it was woodland that locals sometimes referred to as “the princess’s tomb”.
Changnyeongwigung Jaesa (The Crown Prince’s Residence and Ancestral Shrine)
The earliest usage of the site for which I can find any information dates back to 1830. It was then that Princess Bokon (1818–1832), a daughter of King Sunjo (23rd king of the Joseon Dynasty) was married to Kim Byeong Ju (1819–1853) of the Andong Kim clan, a yangban (ruling class) family rooted in Andong, North Gyeongsang province.
Upon their marriage, Kim Byeong Ju gained the title Changnyeongwi. The suffix ‘wi’ was the honorific granted to a man who married a princess, so it can be translated as ‘Prince Consort’. Peerage titles were often preceded by the name of a location associated with the recipient. Kim Byeong Ju hailed from Changnyeong County in what today is South Gyeongsang Province, hence Changnyeongwi. We might translate the full title as ‘Prince Consort of Changnyeong’, but the shorter ‘Prince Consort’ is fine.
As Prince Consort, the new husband was granted an official residence, presumably constructed around the time of the marriage, called Changnyeongwigung, ‘Prince Consort’s Residence’. The suffix gung marks a residence connected to the royal family. Given its presence in the names of royal palaces, like Gyeongbokgung, it’s most often translated as ‘palace’. In this case, given the small size of the compound, ‘residence’ is a better translation.
When Princess Bokon passed away in 1832, just two years after their marriage, she was buried near the residence, which then became the site of her ancestral rites. Though it was uncommon for people to continue living in a residence once it became an ancestral shrine, Kim Byeong Ju carried on living there and performed the rites until his death in 1853, at which point he was buried next to his wife.
The princess had died childless, leaving her husband with no heir. There is no record that he ever remarried. It was a common practice back then for heirless males to adopt a son from a relative who had more sons than he needed. Kim Byeong Ju adopted Kim Do Gyun, a son of one of his cousins. When the elder Kim passed away, his adopted son continued to live in the residence and maintain the ancestral rites. His son, Kim Seok Jin, continued in turn.
When the Japanese annexed Korea in 1910, Kim Seok Jin was severely distraught. He was offered a Japanese baron title, but refused. Instead, he chose to commit suicide in the residence that once belonged to his adoptive grandfather.
The tombs remained on the site until they were relocated to Yongin. I’ve found conflicting dates on this. A local Yongin history journal cites 1993, but a newspaper article from 2023 says it happened in 2002. Given that the Korean government officially designated Changnyeongwigung Jaesa as a Registered Cultural Heritage (No. 40) in 2002, there’s a possibility the author of the article mixed up the dates, and 1993 seems more likely.
Dreamland
The site remained as wooded hills until an amusement park was developed there in the late 1980s. Dreamland in 1987. It featured carnival rides, a swimming pool, and a zoo. According to some sources I’ve found online, the “zoo” initially consisted of chickens and rabbits that roamed around the grassy areas. By 2007, it included monkeys, turkeys, ducks, and goats.
It seems the place was popular in its early years. It was a regular field trip site for students at schools in northeastern Seoul. An episode of a music/variety show was recorded in Dreamland in 1992. The episode is available on YouTube, offering a glimpse into what the amusement park was like. It also includes performances from some up and coming singers from the period.
Dreamland’s parent company was hit hard by the 1997 economic crisis. This opened the door to a takeover in 1999 by a high-ranking member of a crime syndicate, who undertook a campaign of embezzlement. As a consequence, the operator declared bankruptcy in 2001, and the park began to deteriorate in the absence of sufficient funding for maintenance. The crime boss was arrested in 2004, having been responsible for some 13 billion won in losses. The remaining assets were transferred to a new corporation, Seoul Dreamland Co, Ltd.
The new owners were unable to turn it around. With many facilities closed and only a few rides in operation, the park finally shut down in March of 2008.
Dream Forest
The Seoul Metropolitan government purchased the property shortly after it closed. By August, plans were finalized for a new forest park, and development soon got underway. The public was invited to suggest potential names. ‘Dream Forest’ ultimately got the nod as a bridge between the site’s past as Dreamland and its future as a forest park.
Dream Forest was officially opened to the public on October 17, 2009.
Fans of K-Dramas may be interested to know that a scene from the 2009 show Iris was shot in the observation tower.
Facilities
The park features the following facilities, among others:
- wooded hiking trails;
- an artificial lake;
- grass fields;
- an educational art museum for children (operated by the Sejong Center for Performing Arts);
- an arts center with a Concert Hall, Performance Hall, and an exhibition space (also operated by Sejong);
- an observation deck atop an observatory tower;
- restaurants and cafes;
- the Changyeongwigung Ancestral Shrine.