Professor Seo Kyungduk Appointed as PR Ambassador for National Arboretum's 80th Liberation Anniversary Campaign

Professor Seo Appointed as Ambassador for "Long Live Korean Plants" Campaign
"I Will Contribute to Strengthening Biological Sovereignty"

Seo Kyungduk, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, has been appointed as the public relations ambassador for the "Long Live Korean Plants" campaign commemorating the 80th anniversary of Liberation, organized by the National Arboretum under the Korea Forest Service (Director: Lim Youngseok).

The National Arboretum of the Korea Forest Service announced on July 22 that the appointment ceremony was held to reflect on the historical significance of the 80th anniversary of Liberation and to strengthen public outreach for the Liberation commemoration project, which aims to remember the event through plants and spaces promoted by the National Arboretum.

From the left, Lim Youngseok, Director of the National Arboretum, and Professor Seo Kyungduk, appointed as the public relations ambassador. National Arboretum.

In celebration of the 80th anniversary of Liberation, the National Arboretum is currently undertaking a project to correct the scientific names of plants, restoring the original names of plant namers that were recorded with Japanese-style names during the Japanese colonial period. Additionally, the Arboretum is working to restore and document plants that were taken overseas during the colonial era.

Next month, the Arboretum will organize a photo exhibition by compiling historical materials on Korean plants from the 1910s, which are currently housed at Harvard University in the United States. In particular, the Arboretum plans to reinterpret a former bear enclosure to create an outdoor garden themed around "freedom and liberation," and Professor Seo intends to install a model of Dokdo in this space.

Professor Seo stated, "I will do my utmost to promote, both domestically and internationally, the restoration of plant history lost during the Japanese colonial period by producing a variety of online and offline content with the National Arboretum." He added, "I also aim to contribute to strengthening 'biological sovereignty' by widely publicizing the native plants of Ulleungdo and Dokdo in the future."