War with thieves at Taehwagang National Garden... Repeated damage and theft of bamboo shoots, tulips, and more

Ulsan City Issues Strong Warning of Severe Punishment

A sudden ‘war’ with thieves is taking place at Ulsan Taehwagang National Garden.

At Taehwagang National Garden, one of only two national gardens in Korea, incidents of damaging or stealing plants from the ten-ri bamboo grove’s bamboo shoots and the ‘Naturalistic Garden’ decorated with works by world-renowned artists are occurring.

Ulsan City announced that since last week, dozens of tulip flowers have been found broken almost daily in the Naturalistic Garden. In particular, on May 1, six Eryngium plants, which are difficult to obtain domestically, were found uprooted and missing.

Additionally, on May 2, fifteen bamboo shoots were found cut off in the thriving Maengjong bamboo colony in the ten-ri bamboo grove.

Tulip theft scene inside Taehwagang National Garden.

Damage and theft of bamboo shoots.

All incidents are presumed to have occurred during the early dawn hours when few people are around, and this is not the first time theft has been confirmed within Taehwagang National Garden.

Facilities installed for events such as the spring flower festival have been taken, and various thefts of chrysanthemums, other flowers, as well as large trees like hibiscus and juniper, continue unabated.

Ulsan City is making efforts to prevent such cases by expanding security CCTV and installing signboards, but there are limits to what administrative agencies alone can do.

Ulsan City hopes that citizens will help protect Taehwagang National Garden and warned that those who damage or steal plants will be punished.

An official from Ulsan City said, “Taehwagang National Garden is a garden for all Ulsan citizens,” and added, “We hope citizens will cultivate the national garden together with a sense of dignity.”

Illegal collection or damage of plants in national gardens is prohibited under Article 18-8 (Prohibited Acts in Gardens) of the Act on the Creation and Promotion of Arboretums and Gardens, and can be subject to severe punishment under Article 366 (Damage to Property, etc.) and Article 329 (Theft of Public Property) of the Criminal Act.

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