2024-05-03 05:05:07
A trip to Pocheon National Arboretum in Gyeonggi Province
Tree leaves sparkling in the sunlight create various variations of green. As your eyes feel refreshed, even your lungs feel refreshed. While yellow plum blossoms and pink azaleas were popular not long ago, white flowers are trending in May. Even if you look at their subtle appearance, you will miss them all: the darting darter, the innocent chick-flowered tree, and the white poppy… . The Great Striped Butterfly lands on pure white wildflowers or water parsley and loses track of time.
If you are planning a family outing this weekend, I would like to recommend the National Arboretum in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. The National Arboretum is a place where the fresh greenery of May is beautiful, a place where Korea’s representative and rare wild orchid, the Gwangneungyo-gang flower, is in full bloom, a place where trees tell us about the past days, and a place where we can dream of a sustainable future.
●Rare Gwangneung yogan flowers and lucky bags
Buy a ticket at the ticket office and cross the Sumogwon Bridge (bridge) that crosses Bongseonsacheon (river). A cassia tree with green heart-shaped leaves welcomes you. This is the beginning of the arboretum trip. As I look around, I see visitors holding cameras with large lenses moving in one direction. Head towards the direction where the Gwangreungyangang orchid orchids are blooming.
Readers who saw the movie ‘Letter’ starring Park Shin-yang and Choi Jin-sil in the 1990s will remember this. There is a scene where the male protagonist, an arboretum researcher, wakes up his girlfriend with a phone call at dawn and takes her to the arboretum. The man had a flushed expression. A precious flower bloomed this morning, and you were the first to discover it… . Love is something that you want to show the best. When the woman asked the name of the flower, the man looked embarrassed and said, “It’s a little flower.” At the time, the main filming location for the movie was the National Arboretum. Even as time passes, visitors still wait for this flower to bloom before coming.
Gaeballkok is a humorous name given by the public because of the shape of the petals that elongate in the middle. However, the National Tree Genetic Resources Committee chose ‘Lucky Bag’ instead of the name of this flower, which was embarrassing to mention, and included it in the National Standard Plant List published in 2007. Therefore, the wildflower should now be called a lucky bag.
Plants of the lucky sac genus are in danger of extinction worldwide. Three types of species grow naturally in Korea: Lucky Possum, Fur Lucky Pouch, and Gwangneung Yogang Flower. In particular, the Gwangneung yogang flower is a rare plant distributed only in East Asia, and is found to be very limited in Korea to Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Jeonbuk. In Korea, it was first discovered in 1931 at the foot of Mt. Jukyeopsan in Gwangneung Forest and is called Gwangneung Yogang Flower because its lip-shaped petals look like a lip. The Western name is ‘Korean lady’s slipper’. In 2021, the Korea National Arboretum succeeded in germinating seeds in-flight for the first time in the world for this rare plant, which is being collected indiscriminately and is gradually disappearing from its native habitat. This lays the foundation for mass proliferation.
Many people mistakenly believe that the Gwangreungyogan flower and the lucky bag orchid are the same flower. But the two appear completely different. While the Lucky Pouch orchid is pink and plump, the Gwangreungyaogang flower has off-white petals wrapped around the red part in the center. In particular, the Gwangreungyogan flower is also called the ‘skirt orchid’ because its leaves are in the form of a woman’s full skirt that spreads 360 degrees. It looks like a dancer dancing with her skirt wide open, but it somehow gives off an oriental feel.
In the wooden fence area near the National Arboretum’s Rare and Endemic Plant Conservation Center, you can see Gwangreungyogan flowers and Lucky’s orchids, and in the Lucky’s orchids exhibition garden in the direction of the Medicinal Botanical Garden, you can see the hybrid species ‘Bokchigi’s orchids’. Every time the light comes on, the camera shutters ‘click’. I hope you visit before this weekend. If you miss it now, you have to wait another year.
●Past and future considered at the arboretum
The National Arboretum began construction in 1984 and opened in 1987 in response to the needs of the times for a state-run arboretum ahead of the 88 Seoul Olympics. Trees taken from the National Forestry Experiment Station were planted in a natural site that has been undamaged and well-managed for over 500 years as an attached forest of Gwangneung, the tomb of King Sejo of the Joseon Dynasty. The name of the arboretum was changed to ‘National Arboretum’ in 1999, and the ‘Gwangneung Arboretum’ marker erected at the entrance of the arboretum when it opened was moved to the front of the Forest Museum within the arboretum. It is a UNESCO biosphere reserve where hornbeams and oaks live in mature forests of temperate broadleaf trees, which are difficult to find in temperate northern regions worldwide. As I enter the National Arboretum, I feel as if my eyes become clear and my entire body turns light green.
The National Arboretum, which has an exhibition space of 102ha, has a forest path with seven themes spanning about 20km. The most popular course is to walk along the Forest Ecology Observation Trail (460m), where you can see various aspects of the forest, and then enjoy a cup of coffee while looking at Yuklim Lake. Sitting on a bench by the lake and listening to the birds chirping, ‘mulmeong’ (gazing at the water) opens your senses and lets go of your mind. You can also see fish the size of an adult. It is said that about 5,000 fish raised at the Inland Water Research Institute in Cheongpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, were brought here 40 years ago, and among them, carp and koi survived.
Yukrim Lake, where water, trees, mountains, and forests come together, is the representative attraction of the National Arboretum. Especially in spring, the light pink azaleas blooming near the water create a pure scenery. However, mountain azalea and azalea are also examples of people frequently calling them by incorrect names. The name of the dark pink flower commonly called azalea is mountain azalea, and the name of the light pink flower incorrectly called azalea is azalea. Doesn’t love start with calling someone’s name properly? Now, azaleas should be called azaleas.
The National Arboretum is home to commemorative trees of past presidents, which sets it apart as a ‘national representative’ arboretum. Evergreen coniferous trees such as pine and yew are mainly used, but there are also cypress trees and Rose of Sharon. The fir forest path that has been planted for generations is also famous. It would be a good idea to also stop by the ‘Forest Hall of Fame’, which is dedicated to people who contributed to national greening and forestry development. Eight people, including the late Dr. Hyun Shin-gyu, a world-renowned breeder, the late Director Min Byeong-gal, who built Cheonripo Arboretum, the late SK Founding Chairman Choi Jong-hyeon, who was passionate about forestry, and the late Son Sook, former head of the Korea Forest Service, who achieved the ‘1st 10-year Forest Reforestation Plan’ early, made the tribute. It’s done.
The National Arboretum, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, is carrying out a forest sprout growth project called ‘Alsup Norsup’ to celebrate Children’s Day. With the meaning of ‘Alpha friends, let’s play in the forest and enjoy the forest while playing,’ we prepared for children to experience various occupations surrounding the arboretum, such as botanists and gardeners. I hope this will be an opportunity for future generations to put down their digital devices and become familiar with the forest.
●‘My own secret garden’ in the National Arboretum
The National Arboretum has 4,854 species (199,212 plants) planted in 25 specialized exhibition gardens. There are 23 species of rare plants, including the Gwangneung Yogang flower, and 20 species of natural monuments, such as the long-lived sky snail. ‘When I called his name, he came to me and became a flower’ (from Kim Chun-soo’s poem ‘Flower’). In the vast National Arboretum, anyone can create their own plant or their own secret garden. Some people will be drawn to the abundant harvest flowers that herald the early arrival of spring, while others will be drawn to the 121-year-old alder tree in the rest area that sprouts new leaves even after being toppled by the wind. Some people will climb the hill of short trees in the arboretum to straighten out their tangled minds.
Personally, I am fascinated by the simple beauty of our native plants. That is why the rare and endemic plant conservation center within the National Arboretum is ‘my own secret garden.’ Manbyeongcho is in bloom at the Ulleungdo branch of the conservation center. Did you say that it is a ‘herb that cures ten thousand diseases’? Climb the pavilion (pergola) and look at the rare endemic plants of Ulleungdo, such as Dume chives and Seomsiho. The grass that is said to ‘cry faster than the wind and rise before the wind’… . . The National Arboretum in May awakens the preciousness and will of life.
★Geumgangsando after-dinner view: Restaurants recommended by National Arboretum employees
⓵Gwangneung Bulgogi: The side dishes are as popular as the bulgogi.
⓶Dongi Son Mandu: Dumpling hotpot with healthy taste. Unlimited refill water kimchi is also popular.
⓷Mosim: A hand tofu restaurant near Bongseonsa Temple.
⓸Hamane Chueotang: A famous Komori Chueotang restaurant.
⓹Urban Jeju: Jeju-style pizza and pasta restaurant near Komori Reservoir.
Pocheon = Reporter Kim Seon-mi kimsunmi@donga.com
2024-05-03 05:05:07