<기사제목>Forest Service and Cultural Heritage Administration Plant Natural Monument Successor Trees at Sejong Arboretum

On the 21st, at the National Sejong Arboretum located in Sejong City, Park Jong-ho, the Administrator of the Korea Forest Service (right), along with Jeong Jae-sook, the Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, planted a pine tree from Seonghwang-ri, Uiryeong in the Heugye-mok Garden. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Sejong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Korea Forest Service announced on the 21st that, together with the Cultural Heritage Administration, it held a commemorative tree planting ceremony for the 'Introduction of Natural Monument Successor Trees' at the National Sejong Arboretum Successor Tree Garden.

A total of 151 trees were planted in the Successor Tree Garden, including 7-year-old pine trees propagated by grafting from the Natural Monument No. 359 pine trees located in Seonghwang-ri, Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province.

The Sejong Arboretum, which includes the Successor Tree Garden among 20 themed plant exhibition gardens, is scheduled to be completed next month. The Successor Tree Garden is designed to collect and preserve genetic resources of trees with natural monument status, historical symbolism, and rarity, aiming to raise visitors' awareness of the importance of biodiversity. The area is 1.0 hectares, capable of planting about 800 successor trees.

Previously, the Korea Forest Service and the Cultural Heritage Administration signed a memorandum of understanding in 2013 for 'Preservation and Transmission of Cultural Heritage and Protection and Management of Forest Resources,' promoting the preservation of genetic resources of natural monuments and the cultivation of successor trees as a government innovation collaborative project.

Through this, the two agencies have successfully cultivated 539 successor trees of natural monuments across 69 species, including the Ginkgo tree at Yongmunsa Temple in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, Natural Monument No. 30. The successor trees planted in the Successor Tree Garden on this day, such as the Uiryeong Seonghwang-ri pine, Yangpyeong Yongmunsa Ginkgo, and Jeju Sancheondan Gomsol (Korean red pine) groups, are fruits of this process.

In particular, the successor pine tree from Uiryeong Seonghwang-ri was produced by grafting the year after the agencies signed the memorandum of understanding, symbolizing seven years of collaborative achievements, which adds special significance.

The Uiryeong Seonghwang-ri pine tree is estimated to be 300 years old and has been known as a village guardian Seonang tree (a tree believed to house the Korean indigenous mountain god, Seonangsin), holding high folkloric value.

Park Jong-ho, Administrator of the Korea Forest Service, said, “Like the pine tree, one of the ten long-living symbols Koreans cherish most, I hope the Korea Forest Service and the Cultural Heritage Administration will continue their institutional collaboration projects for a long time to provide more benefits to the public.”

List of Natural Monument Successor Tree Plantings. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.