Chollipo Arboretum is recognized worldwide as a valued and longstanding peer of numerous botanic gardens and arboreta of the world for professional information exchange regarding plant sciences, public garden practices and for its Index Seminum.

 

   Chollipo Arboretum was founded by Mr. Pyong-gal Min (Carl Ferris Miller) who has spent mucheffort to create a home for plants from the temperate zones of the world along with Korean native plants. Presently, he is a consulting director of Good Morning Securities Company Ltd. and the director of Chollipo Arboretum Foundation. He has been living in Korea for 55 years.

   The Arboretum has a unique collection of various plants with its main focus on woody plants from USDA zones 4 to 8. Two of the best collections are those of magnolias and hollies. The magnolia collection here is known worldwide as one of the most comprehensive with upwards of 410 species, hybrids and named cultivars.

   Careful records of all acquisitions have been kept since 1974. Acrylic labels are attached, in principle, to all plants. Much improvement in labeling and mapping of areas in recent years along with the introduction of a computer system has made for more efficient record keeping.

   The Arboretum is currently maintained by fifteen permanent staff members in three departments; Plant Collections Plant Resource Research Institute and General Maintenance.

   Chollipo Arboretum is funded entirely by Mr. Min himself. To him, the arboretum is a "worthwhile cause, something that no one else has done. As a naturalized Korean citizen, the arboretum is a contribution to my adopted country. I think of it in terms not twenty-five or thirty years, but of two hundred years that the plants will be carried on after I die."