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DMZ Native Plant Garden to open to public, offering peek at North Korean flowers

Published: 28 May. 2025, 15:36 Updated: 28 May. 2025, 17:53

White poppies [KOREA NATIONAL ARBORETUM]

Rare northern plants such as Baekdusan tteokssuk and Jangbaek pinks will be on display for one month at the DMZ Native Plant Garden.

Located in Haean-myeon, Yanggu County, Gangwon, the garden is South Korea’s northernmost botanical garden and opened in October 2017 to research northern plant resources.

The Korea National Arboretum said Wednesday that it will open the Northern Plant Exhibition Garden inside the National DMZ Native Plant Garden through June 27. Usually closed to the public, the garden allows visitors to observe a variety of northern and North Korean plants threatened by climate change, including Baekdusan tteokssuk, Jangbaek pinks, Dwarf fan-shaped columbines and white poppies.

Visitors will also be able to view the Rare and Endemic Plant Garden, which showcases rare and endemic species from the demilitarized zone (DMZ). In addition, an ex situ conservation site has been established to preserve alpine conifers such as Korean firs and spruce trees, which face extinction due to climate change.

Dwarf fan-shaped columbines [KOREA NATIONAL ARBORETUM]

The garden’s visitor center will host a botanical illustration exhibition that highlights the ecological and scientific value of DMZ and northern flora, and emphasizes the importance of conservation. On weekends, expert-led guided tours of the exhibition gardens will also be available.

Northern plants refer to glacial relict species that migrated south during the last Ice Age and remained on the Korean Peninsula afterward, unable to return north. These species have adapted to specific environments such as alpine or subalpine zones, where temperatures are low and daily temperature differences are high.

Jangbaek pinks [KOREA NATIONAL ARBORETUM]

North Korean plants are those native to the northern part of the Korean Peninsula or areas further north. About 3,500 taxa have been reported, some of which possess unique ecological characteristics that are rare or absent in the South.

“This special opening offers an opportunity to reflect on the ecological value of northern and North Korean plants and to build public consensus on the need for their conservation,” said Lim Young-seok, director of the Korea National Arboretum. “We hope visitors will come to appreciate the unique ecological setting of the DMZ and reflect on the importance of nature,” he added.

Baekdusan tteokssuk [KOREA NATIONAL ARBORETUM]

The National DMZ Native Plant Garden, which comprises 10 specialized exhibition gardens, houses 1,120 native species, representing 41 percent of plants native to the DMZ border area. During the special opening period, the garden is open free of charge from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and is closed on Mondays.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEON ICK-JIN [[email protected]]