According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Naions (FAO)’s <Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020>, most of the terrestrial animal and plant species known to humans, including humans, inhabit 31% of the land area which is forest. In the middle of the climate crisis, forest fires, floods, and landslides are increasing in frequency due to the increase in abnormal climate phenomena, and the negative cycle of forest area reduction is perpetuated. Forests support life on Earth and play an important role in sustainable development. An arboretum is a place to conserve these forests. Arboretums, which feature mainly woody plants, are used for collecting, managing, and displaying a variety of plants. It is a place for education and research on species conservation, new breeding, plant production and cultivation technology. In this article, the CBT reporters would like to investigate the Sejong National Arboretum (SJNA), which leads the conservation and propagation of native plants in the temperate central region.

#. Special Exhibition & Interview
  This May, special exhibitions such as ‘Boom! Becoming a Butterfly and Meeting Blossoms’ and ‘Orchid Salon’ are being held at the SJNA. The CBT reporters interviewed two officials of the Exhibition Planning and Operation Office, to find out more about each exhibition and the experience activities that visitors can enjoy.

- Boom! Becoming a Butterfly and Meeting Blossoms
  The following text is an interview with Choi Woo-kyung, the director of the exhibition.

1. Please introduce the exhibition ‘Boom! Becoming a Butterfly and Meeting Blossoms’ and describe the motive to design this exhibition.

  This is a participatory exhibition where you can experience the lifecycle of plants and insects in the garden as a pollinator (such as a butterfly, bee, etc.) The butterflies that can be observed in the arboretum, and in the Chungcheong area, are exhibited in the air, so that you can naturally learn about the butterflies around us. You can also visit the ‘Gardener’s Room,’ which displays gardening items and insect collecting tools used by gardeners who care for the beautiful gardens.
  You can see a lily of the valley, made from recycled plastic and giant flowers (daffodils, magnolias, dandelions, etc.), and 16 kinds of flowers and companion plants suitable for spring gardens such as hydrangea, dahlia, anemone, and cymbidium.
  We hope that it will be a time for visitors to the arboretum to experience physical and environmental healing and gain new vitality as they stroll through the spring garden full of the flowers and the butterflies.



2. What is the key, must-see point of the exhibition ‘Boom! Becoming a Butterfly and Meeting Blossoms?’

  Visitors can become a pollinator and carry pollen while wearing butterfly and bee wings, which are props for experience placed in the greenhouse. It is also recommended to take a break from the busy social life, make yourself comfortable on a beanbag, and spend time with all the plants while looking at the large flowers hanging from the ceiling.



2. What is the key, must-see point of the exhibition ‘Orchid Salon?’

  The audience can experience approximately 70 species of rare orchids from East, West and all over. This includes orchids in the shape of pigeon with spreading wings (Peristeria elata), Vanilla orchids with flavors and scents loved by people all over the world (Vanilla planifolia) and even one looking like a monkey’s face (Dracula simia). Furthermore, the exhibition provides visitors with various attractions including a flower decorated piano photo zone reminiscent of a scene from the movie ‘Attila Marcel.’ You can also see Wardian Cases, invented for the safe transportation and management of plants by British naturalist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in 19th century.
  Choi Woo-kyung assured us that “SJNA provide diverse exhibitions and cultural contents to spread gardening culture as it is an urban arboretum. We will work hard to make a delightful arboretum where people are happy with the harmony of nature and culture in the middle of the city.”

#. Facilities
  SJNA is consisted of 25 facilities including a Pollinator Garden and Four-Season Exhibition Glasshouse. The CBT reporters will introduce two of them below:

- Pollinator Garden (A garden where insects and plants are co-existing)
  Pollinator (pollen mediator) refers to a creature that is facilitating pollination, carrying pollen from stamens to pistils. Typically, bees and butterflies are pollinators of various plants. Pollinator Garden is for these pollinators having significant impact, helping flowers bloom and have significant impact on human food production and natural ecosystems. According to the FAO, the world’s major 10 crops are relying on bees’ pollination. Moreover, according to ‘Public-Private Joint Investigation into Overwintering Damage in Winter in Bee Farms’ from the Rural Development Administration published in March, approximately 6 billion bees disappeared over the last year. The decline in the populations of the pollinator has a tremendous impact on crop production leading to threatening the survival of mankind. the CBT reporters recommend to observe the overall life cycle of plants and insects and investigate the importance of pollinators as well as experience endangered butterfly species like the Large Copper (Lycaena dispar).

By Park Su-min l psm0129@cbnu.ac.kr
By Ji Jae-lim l jlim0714@cbnu.ac.kr