This week on Jeju: A to Z, with pleasant spring weather upon us, Todd Thacker takes a brief look at Jeju City’s popular Halla Arboretum in Shin Jeju, which attracts ever-larger numbers of visitors every year.
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With daytime temperatures now in the high-teens, the month of March brings Jeju into full bloom. Pretty much anywhere you go around the island it’s easy to find the colors of spring. But if you are in Jeju City and have a few hours to spare, there’s a perfect place for you.

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5 minutes south of Nohyeong Rotary in Shin Jeju

Halla Arboretum is just a five-minute drive south of Nohyeong Rotary in Shin Jeju. This is a place that residents of Jeju City can consider their own personal garden.

It’s now so popular that visitors from the mainland are also making a point of putting it on their travel agendas. About 2 million people visit every year.

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1,100 plant species on 20.3 hectares

The arboretum, which in Korean is called Halla Sumokwon (한라수목원), was first conceived of in 1986 when the Ministry of the Environment set aside land to protect the island’s plant species. Opened to the public in 1993 after eight years of construction and a multi-billion won investment, it covers 20.3 hectares and has about 1,100 species of trees and plants.

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sumokwon.jeju.go.kr

This isn’t just a nature reserve or even a beloved tourist attraction, though. Apart from the themed gardens, 3.8 kilometers of walking paths, and picturesque vistas, the arboretum is a place where botanists are actively conducting research.

There are also two greenhouses and a Natural Ecology Experience Exhibition Hall which gives visitors a synopsis of Jeju’s ecology.

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Todd Thacker

Given that our busy urban lives can sometimes make it difficult to get outdoors, it’s good to know that there’s a readily accessible, free public space here in the city that offers up the beauty and diversity of Jeju’s plant life.

Todd Thacker KCTV