NATION'S FIRST URBAN NATIONAL ARBORETUM

[Anchor Lead]

Construction of Korea's first urban national arboretum has been completed after 4 years. The Sejong National Arboretum houses 20 different themed exhibition gardens and the largest greenhouse for plants in the country. It will open in October.

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This is a new national arboretum sitting on the Jangnam Plain in Sejong City. Visitors entering the main gate will first notice an all-year-round greenhouse shaped as an iris flower. The facility has 3 exhibition halls, each for tropical and Mediterranean flora and special exhibitions. Rare plant species from around the world according to climate will be on display. There are 20 other exhibition gardens featuring different themes including a traditional Korean garden which is a recreation of a pagoda from Huwon Secret Garden at Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul in its actual size. One garden is dedicated to trees grown from the seedlings of mother trees that are designated as natural monuments. At another vegetable garden, visitors can try their hands at sowing, cultivating and harvesting.

[Soundbite] GANG SIN-GU(ARBORETUM'S PLANT PRESERVATION DEP.) : "Through raising, gathering and cooking the plants, visitors will hopefully cultivate a heart to cherish and preserve them even more."

The Sejong arboretum is the first national arboretum to open in an urban environment in the heart of a city. Situated on a site measuring 90 football fields, the facility holds 1.6 million plants of 24-hundred different species from home and abroad.

[Soundbite] LEE YOO-MI(DIRECTOR, SEJONG NATIONAL ARBORETUM) : "The venue will foster a new arboretum culture where citizens can encounter plant life close to home and enjoy the experience."

The Sejong arboretum will formally open in October after adding final touches to it amenities.