Pokemon Garden Stamp Rally Guide: What Visitors Need to Know After the Seoul Event Suspension

The Pokemon garden stamp rally became one of the most talked-about parts of Pokemon Mega Festa 2026 after large crowds in Seongsu led organizers to suspend the stamp rally event on May 1, 2026. For visitors planning a trip around the Pokemon Secret Forest at the Seoul Garden Show, the key point is simple: the garden program and the suspended stamp rally should be treated as separate items unless an official update says otherwise.

Pokemon Mega Festa 2026 is described by Pokemon Korea as a Pokemon 30th anniversary event running across Seoul from May 1 to June 21, 2026, with major locations including Seoul Forest, Seongsu, and COEX.¹ Within that wider program, Pokemon Secret Forest is the garden-related attraction at Seoul Forest and is listed as part of the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show content.²

Pokemon Garden Stamp Rally Status After May 1

The stamp rally was halted on May 1 after unexpectedly large crowds gathered around the Seongsu area during Pokemon Mega Festa 2026. News1, carried by Financial News, reported that the Seoul stamp rally involved collecting stamps at designated locations to receive benefits, and that interest intensified after word spread about the distribution of a rare Magikarp card.³

Pokemon Korea’s notice was quoted as saying that the planned stamp rally event had been temporarily suspended because of “safety issues.”³ That wording matters for visitors: the available source material confirms a temporary suspension, but it does not provide a restart date, revised operating method, reservation system, or replacement distribution plan.

World Daily reported that police and fire authorities were dispatched on May 1 as crowds grew around the Seongsu Pokemon Mega Festa site. The same report said about 90 police personnel were deployed near Pokemon event booths around Seoul Forest, and Seoul city estimates placed the Seongsu Cafe Street crowd at 26,000 around 10 a.m., rising to about 40,000 around noon.⁴ The organizer stopped the event around noon following requests from Seoul City and others.⁴

For practical planning, visitors should not assume the stamp rally is operating just because other Pokemon Mega Festa or garden attractions are still listed for the May 1 to June 21 event period. The stamp rally is the item specifically reported as suspended; the Pokemon Secret Forest has its own posted operating period and hours.

Visiting Pokemon Secret Forest at Seoul Forest

Pokemon Secret Forest is the main garden attraction connected to this focus. Pokemon Korea lists it at Seoul Forest’s Ginkgo Tree Road, operating from May 1 to June 21, 2026, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.¹ The official 2026 Seoul International Garden Show website also introduces Pokemon Secret Forest as a character pop-up garden created by Pokemon Korea, with the same May 1 to June 21 operating period.²

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced before the opening that the Pokemon garden would be built in the ginkgo forest area of Seoul Forest at a scale of 2,800 square meters. It said the display would include more than 10 Pokemon, including Pikachu.⁵ BetaNews also described Pokemon Secret Forest as an approximately 2,800-square-meter forest-themed space within Seoul Forest Park, connected to the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show.⁶

This means the most reliable visit target, based on the available facts, is the Pokemon Secret Forest itself rather than the suspended stamp rally route. If you are planning around children, collectibles, or a tight travel schedule, separate your expectations: the garden installation has published dates and hours, while the stamp rally has only been reported as temporarily suspended.

Crowd conditions are the other practical issue. The May 1 reports describe a rapid increase in visitors and official safety intervention, so it is reasonable to plan with extra time, avoid assuming quick movement between locations, and be prepared for on-site changes. The source material does not provide ticketing requirements, reservation rules, admission fees, or crowd-control procedures for Pokemon Secret Forest, so visitors should rely on posted on-site guidance and official event updates when making final plans.

What to Check Before You Go

Before heading to Seoul Forest or Seongsu for Pokemon-related programming, check three facts separately: whether Pokemon Secret Forest is open, whether the stamp rally has resumed, and whether any benefit or card distribution method has changed. The available reports link the crowd surge partly to the rare Magikarp card benefit, but they do not confirm any future distribution arrangement after the suspension.³

It is also useful to distinguish between the wider Pokemon Mega Festa 2026 and individual location-based activities. Pokemon Korea’s official Q&A frames Mega Festa as a Seoul-wide anniversary event across Seoul Forest, Seongsu, COEX, and other places from May 1 to June 21.¹ A Seoul-wide festival can continue while a specific stamp rally component remains paused.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government’s earlier press release also gives useful context for why the garden drew interest: Kim Young-hwan, director general of Seoul’s Garden City Bureau, said the city had experienced “explosive popularity” for character gardens through the previous year’s Ditto garden.⁵ That background helps explain the appeal, but it does not change the present visitor guidance after the May 1 suspension.

작성자 소개

Patrick Choi

Administrator

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