Chollipo Arboretum

▲ Panoramic view of Chollipo Arboretum

Chollipo Arboretum is located in 875 Uihang-ri Sowon-myeon Taean-gun, Chungcheongnam-do. Established for the purpose of defining the global standing of Korean plants by a comparative study of Korean plants and world plants, it implements projects to protect and commercialize plant resources and provide a venue for learning about plants.
The Arboretum was originally a bare mountain in the area of Chollipo. It was the late founder Min Byung Gal who was called a Korean with blue eyes (American name: Carl Ferris Miller, 1979~2002) that made it green with all his heart for more than 40 years by his private funds. Based on the 6,000 pyeong land purchased in 1962, the site was expanded annually from 1970 to continually collect the plants that could adjust to the local climate and soil from foreign lands with similar climatic conditions and from other places in Korea and to manage them systematically.
The oceanic climatic conditions of the Chollipo Arboretum are characterized by summer cooler than the interior and rather warmer winter, enabling the cultivation of both subtropical and subarctic plants. Therefore, the wide selection of plant species is the biggest advantage of this Arboretum, which allows the growth of evergreen broad-leaved trees and alpine plants. Optimal arrangement and management by species are being practiced here according to various natural environment factors such as soil, climate of each area, existing flora, etc., in a site spanning about 60ha, which is mainly divided into 7 areas. Currently, only two of the seven areas are open to the public.
It owns a total of 13,200 plant species collected from more than 33 countries including the US and publishes the <List of Plants in Possession>. It also owns more than 370 species of Holly, which is famous all over the world, including over 450 species of magnolia, the world’s biggest in terms of scale. In addition, the Arboretum’s strength lies in focused diversity in specific species such as camellia (over 380 species), rose of Sharon (over 250 species), maple trees (over 200 species). Artificial control to make the plants collected in this way look beautiful through pruning or the use of chemical fertilizer is kept to a minimum to ensure that they grow in naturally preserved state.
The nickname of Chollipo Arboretum before it was opened to the public in March 2009 was the “Secret Garden of God.” Only authorized plant researchers or members of supporters’ association were allowed to enter. Today, with the explosive increase in the number of visitors since its opening to the public, the Arboretum is becoming more and more famous every day. 041) 672-9982 /www.chollipo.org

 

Geumgang Arboretum

▲ Panoramic view of Geumgang Arboretum in winter

Geumgang Arboretum is located in San 21-1 Donam-ri Banpo-myeon, Gongju City, Chungcheongnam-do. It was founded in 1994 for the purpose of preserving biodiversity through natural education and collection, discovery, and proliferation of local native species and rare desired species and providing recreational forest and cultural space that can represent the central region through academic research on making resources out of plants and via permanent preservation and exhibition of historical forest data.
It is operating the Institute of Forest Environment, Forest Museum, Botanical Garden, Arboretum, Tropical Greenhouse, Wildflower Garden, Breeding Ground for Mandarin Duck, Bird Breeding Ground, and Breeding Ground for Animals together with Geumgang Natural Recreational Forest. It is largely divided into the Exhibition Arboretum and Special Arboretum; various plants nearing 421 species and more than 101,000 trees and flowers together with wild, autogenous flowers are being planted in 23 gardens in the 20ha area, thereby forming a space for studying nature as well as doing academic research.
The Exhibition Arboretum has been developed to provide education to visitors about nature in combination with the tropical greenhouses and the forest museum and to serve as recreational space for emotional cultivation.
In the Forest Museum whose roof is built after the traditional Baekje style, mock-ups of the Gingko in Seokdong-ri, Nami-myeon, Geumsan-gun (Natural Monument No. 365), which is known to have the biggest circumference in Korea, and the Dangsan (Guardian) tree in Sanhak-ri Sinpung-myeon, Gongju City, etc., are on exhibit.
In addition, there are greenhouses by theme such as tropical orchards, tropical flower gardens, botanical garden for succulents, etc., together with a large-scale animal breeding ground; nature study camps for nature observation, firsthand experience of the forest, and field trips are being operated. In the large greenhouse with glass dome, tropical and subtropical plants are on display and cultivated; animals such as Asiatic black bears, wild boars, and birds such as mandarin ducks and eagles are being bred in the wild animal village. The arboretum, wild flower garden, pond, etc., provide a variety of attractions.
The surrounding tourist attractions include: Gongju Folk Drama Museum, National Gongju Museum, Donghaksa Temple, Maam-ri Prehistoric Cave Ruins, and Bonggok Mountain Fortress. 041) 850-2686