Cooperation project between Korea National Arboretum and Munich Botanical Garden

The Korea National Arboretum is an over 500-year-old arboretum in the city of Pocheon in the South Korean province of Gyeonggi. The Gwangneung Arboretum, which is part of the Korea Forest Research Institute, was founded in 1987 and has been open to the public ever since. In 1999, it was transformed into the Korea National Arboretum: The Arboretum includes 15 specialized garden areas, a forest museum, a herbarium and a seed bank, and since June 2010 it has been a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Since 2005, there has been a close cooperation between the Korea National Arboretum and the Munich Botanical Garden, which is concretized by a Memorandum of Understanding.

It includes the following common goals:

  • Exchange of staff for research and training
  • Exchange of living or dried plant material
  • Joint research projects
  • Exchange of publications and information

Since 2003, Dr. Till Hägele, department head of the Munich Greenhouse Division, visited the KNA several times to advise on the planning of new greenhouses, which were opened in 2007. There were also several return visits, including one by Hye-Young Jin in Munich. Most recently, Dr. Till Hägele gave a presentation on the increasing importance of Citizen Science projects at the 2021 International Symposium of the Korea National Arboretum.

New greenhouse of the Korea National Arboretum