"Eliminating opaque plant distribution"... Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute establishes the 'Korean-style Plant Finder'

[Financial News, Sejong = Reporter Kim Won-jun] The development of a 'Korean-style Plant Finder' to systematize distribution information for the domestic garden industry and establish a garden plant database is being pursued in earnest.
The Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute (KAGI) announced on the 4th that it is launching a project to revitalize the domestic garden industry and provide accurate plant information, and is recruiting participating companies until the 18th of this month.
This project benchmarked 'The Plant Finder,' a representative plant information book from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) of the UK, which boasts global authority. The RHS Plant Finder is a system that links a list of available plants with information on producers and distributors, serving as an essential guide for garden enthusiasts and landscape professionals when searching for and purchasing plants.
The Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute (KAGI) plans to systematically organize information on garden plants produced and distributed domestically by developing a Korean-style model tailored to domestic climate and market conditions. The core objective is to establish an information platform foundation that allows the general public as well as professionals in the landscape and gardening fields to find necessary information at a glance by linking the recorded plant information with data from production and distribution companies.
Participation is open to all domestic companies that produce, sell, or supply garden plants. Companies wishing to participate can apply through the 'Jeongwon Nuri' website, a comprehensive garden information portal. The submitted materials will be used as foundational data for book publication and future online search pages; final inclusion will be determined after expert review regarding the verification of plant scientific and standard names, as well as domestic applicability.
The president of the Korea Arboreta and Gardens Institute (KAGI), Sim Sang-taek, stated, "The publication of this book and the establishment of this system will be an important first step in systematically connecting fragmented information on the production and distribution of domestic garden plants." He added, "We hope for much interest and participation from producers and distributors so that their active involvement can lead to strengthened competitiveness for the entire garden industry and the provision of highly reliable plant information."
Meanwhile, KAGI's establishment of this 'Korean-style Plant Finder' is regarded as an attempt to overcome the structural limitations of the domestic garden market, which is growing rapidly due to the recent craze for companion plants and home gardening, as well as the revitalization of urban garden creation projects. Until now, the domestic garden plant market has faced difficulties in verifying the availability of desired plants or accurate variety information because distribution networks have been fragmented by region and farm.

[email protected] Kim Won-jun Reporter