Nodeul Community Farm (Nodeul Island)
Seoul, South Korea · Operator: Seoul Metropolitan Government / Nodeul community gardeners
Overview
A citizen-participatory urban farm on Nodeul Island in the Han River. A formerly neglected artificial island was turned into a community garden for safe food and neighbourly exchange, becoming one of the symbolic sites of Seoul's urban agriculture.
Citizen participation
Citizens apply each season for plots on Nodeul Island in the Han River and grow vegetables using eco-friendly methods without chemical fertilisers or pesticides. The farm is run to produce safe food and to build neighbourly community ties; in winter part of the site is converted into an ice-skating rink.
Operating model
Publicly run model in which the Seoul Metropolitan Government manages the island and allocates cultivation plots to citizens. Developed as part of the city's urban-agriculture policy, with the administration covering operating costs and participants paying a plot fee.
Impact
Recognised as a model for converting unused inner-city space into a place for citizen farming and exchange; even after the island was redeveloped into a cultural complex from 2019, it remains a symbol of citizen-led urban agriculture in Seoul.
Land tenure
City-owned and city-managed island land; citizens use cultivation plots under a license/allotment scheme.
Crops
- vegetables
Scale
Citizen allotment plots on Nodeul Island, an artificial island in the Han River; plots are allocated to residents each season
Sources(2)
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
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