The Korea National Arboretum (Director: Lim Young-seok) is launching the National Arboretum Little Prince Project from October to November in collaboration with 12 arboretums and botanical gardens nationwide. This project is part of a campaign aimed at raising awareness about plants and reshaping our relationship with them.

Participating institutions (12 locations): Korea National Arboretum National Sejong Arboretum National Baekdu Daegan Arboretum National Korean Native Plant Arboretum Gyeongsangnam-do Arboretum Baekdu Daegan Ecological Arboretum Boryeong Mugunghwa Arboretum Singu University Botanical Garden The Garden of Morning Calm Cheollipo Arboretum Hantaek Botanical Garden and Hwadam Forest.
The Little Prince Project invites participants to choose a plant within the arboretum that resonates with them and adopt it as their tree. Participants are encouraged to form a connection with their chosen plant by naming it taking photos or creating meaningful poems or writings which they can share with others through the app. Inspired by the relationship between the rose and the Little Prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupérys The Little Prince the project aims to foster a special bond between people and plants encouraging participants to understand each other and develop a sense of responsibility for life.

The project began in May with internal staff participation at the National Arboretum and has since expanded to include local residents and visitors receiving high satisfaction ratings from participants. This success has driven the nationwide expansion allowing more citizens to join in.

To participate in the Little Prince Project visitors can simply scan a QR code provided at one of the 12 participating arboretums or botanical gardens to access the app. Once on the app participants can choose their plant give it a nickname and upload a photo. Anyone can participate and all participants will receive a small commemorative gift.

After the event concludes special rewards will be given to the participants who have visited the arboretum the most engaged in the most plant interactions or received the most ‘likes’ on their shared posts. Prizes for the top 1-3 participants include a gardener’s kit and an additional 100 participants will be randomly selected to receive coffee coupons.

Director Lim Young-seok of the Korea National Arboretum expressed his hopes for the project: “We hope this project allows people to discover their own cherished plant and develop a deeper relationship with it fostering a sense of affection and responsibility towards nature. We also expect it will help people recognize the value of native plants in our surroundings and rethink the importance of living in harmony with nature.”