Arboreta in Korea have achieved a rapid growth during the last 20 years, which is relatively short period of time. However, there are many problems has been raised at the same time such as standardized formation, absence of differentiated management a...
Arboreta in Korea have achieved a rapid growth during the last 20 years, which is relatively short period of time. However, there are many problems has been raised at the same time such as standardized formation, absence of differentiated management and operation measures, absence of long-term development plan, lack of field experts, poor financial state and others that need to be resolved. Moreover, it is important to actively cope with the change in paradigm which entails strengthening functions such as networking, communication, education and recreation in order to improve the general public’s awareness towards importance of plant diversity and the need for conservation.
To resolve this effectively, it is recommended to categorize arboreta according to the groups that have similar characteristics, and to introduce suitable problem-solving strategy, differentiation strategy and new paradigm adaptation strategy for each category respectively.
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*A thesis submitted to the Council of the Graduate School of Kyungpook National University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph. D. of Agriculture in June 2012
This research classified various types of arboreta in Korea based on the characteristics of their demand and supply aspects, and segmentalized problem-solving and management measures were suggested by considering the characteristics by type.
1. In order to classify arboreta types with the demand aspect, 22 out of 27 arboreta visitors were surveyed about their motives of visiting. When the motives were classified based on the key findings, four types were classified; ‘Intermediate type arboreta’ that do not have clear characteristics when it comes to the motivation for visiting, ‘Multi-purpose recreation arboreta’ that absorb all the motivators by powerfully embracing recreation and health motivators, and approach and low cost motivators, and the experience and learning and tourism motivators as well at the same time, ‘Thematic tourism arboreta’ that embrace the plant and scenery appreciation elements among the powerful tourism motivators, and ‘Learning and appreciation arboreta’ that embrace strong experience and learning motivators and middle level plant and scenery appreciation motivators.
2. Current status pertaining to location, usability, management, operation, resources and facility of the management, operation, resources and facility was studied to classify types, using the supply aspect as standard. When materialized based on the findings, it was possible to classify into five types of subsection; ‘Region specialized arboreta’ that have characteristics only at the specific categories among the detailed index categories that comprise the elements but no clear common characteristics detected in case of the elements extracted for categorization, ‘Multi-purpose arboreta’ with the ability to carry out diverse functions of the arboreta effectively since there are many plant types retained including the garden plants that has powerful arboretum operation capability elements from diverse aspects such as education, research and conservation and others, ‘Communication oriented arboreta’ with the highest communication potential and number of visitors since they have powerful demand and responsiveness due to the extensive number of visitors and number of employees and powerful arboretum operation capability, ‘City relaxation oriented arboreta’ that have high potential usability since they are located close to an urban area and that can be considered to have park-like traits since operation capability and horticulture theme elements are low although demand and responsiveness are strong, and ‘Ornamental thematic arboreta’ that offer diverse entertainments due to the share of garden plants and many different plant types retained, that have visitors from all the regions nationwide, and that are characterized by strong demand and responsiveness.
3. Types of 22 arboreta were categorized both from the demand and supply aspects and were compared, which demonstrated that 15 arboreta manifest congruity in terms of the type from the demand and supply aspects. Thus, it is possible to assume that there is some conformity when it comes to the characteristics of the current status pertaining to the visitors’ motivation for visiting. However, seven arboreta did not manifest congruity. Like wise, a process for the acclimatization of the visitors’ motivation for visiting to suit the arboretum characteristics or for establishing arboretum’s new identity by factoring in the visitors’ characteristics is needed.
4. Difference in the visitors’ characteristics among the types of arboreta classified using the supply aspect as the standard was analyzed which demonstrated that the share of the visitors who are housewives and visitors who are at least in their 50s are high in case of the ‘Urban area recreation arboreta’ and ‘Communication oriented arboreta.’ In case of the ‘Ornamental thematic arboreta,’ share of the visitors who are in their 20s or less are high. In case of the ‘Multi-purpose arboreta,’ share of the group visitors are high. In case of the ‘Ornamental thematic arboreta,’ average visitor spending are the highest. Likewise, diverse implications that are needed for the management of visitors going forth were drawn out. Moreover, majority of the visitors to the arboreta were motivated by recreation, health and tourism motivators. Going forth, strategy for the specialization of operation and for the characterization needs to actively embrace the change in conditions that require arboreta to communicate even more with the general public.
5. Difference in the visitors’ characteristics among the types of arboreta classified using the supply aspect as the standard was analyzed, which confirmed that there is a difference by all types of current statuses by each type. This in turn confirmed that the result of classifying the types of this research is meaningful. However, the result of confirming the level of individual arboretum’s focus on work for the 24 key work domains presented by the BGCI demonstrated that there is virtually no difference by the type of arboreta. Thus, it was confirmed indirectly that there is a lack of the awareness and willingness for the characterization and differentiation of the arboretum managers and operators’ work domains. Moreover, average for all the arboreta in Korea for the level of focus on the 24 key work domains was analyzed, which demonstrated that less than average (3) was manifested in 12 work domains, which is half of the domains. Thus, it is possible to see that the work domains of all the arboreta lean considerably to one side. Nationwide, there are a significant number of arboreta that pursue after differentiation by focusing on specific areas among the 24 domains or work domains that go beyond. Because they will turn into the capability of the entire nation that synthesizes their capabilities into ideal capability when the arboreta do not lean to specific area, it is necessary to develop detailed research and countermeasures accordingly.
6. Detailed management measures by the type classified using the supply aspect as the standard was suggested. In other words, there is a need to carry out the secondary characterization from the operation aspect even more oriented on the specific index category that offers advantages when it comes to the ‘Region specialized arboreta.’ Meanwhile, ‘Multi-purpose arboreta’ are the model for the arboreta in Korea that offer specific level of capability that calls for the active introduction of the concept of sustainability to the arboretum operation. Moreover, it is necessary to strengthen the nation’s overall capability by increasing the share of work for the following; introduction of new agricultural products, which corresponds to the domain in which the nation’s overall concentration level falls significantly among the 24 work domains presented by the BGCI, evaluation of characteristics, research on the environment-friendly disease and (insect) pest and weed control, development of cityscape plan, and evaluation of effect on the environment.
‘Communication oriented arboreta’ require strengthening of the communication with the locals or groups based on strong demand and conformity and operation capability. In addition, they have to play the role of helping to build consensus regarding the importance of plant diversity and need for conservation while general public enjoys while pioneering into new cultural domain through the combination with all types of art areas such as music and art in addition to plant.
‘City relaxation oriented arboreta’ have a demand level characteristic that is similar to those of the ‘Communication oriented arboreta.’ However, their other competence tend to be rather weak since they are comprised of the arboreta that are characterized by relatively short operation period compared to others after the opening. When the demand level characteristics and arboretum capability are factored in, strategy for setting up the direction for long-term growth based on the ‘Communication oriented arboreta’ form and for mending shortcomings is needed.
‘Ornamental thematic arboreta’ are the place where diverse visitors from the nation visit. Thus, it is very well recognized by the general public, and offers diverse entertainments oriented on garden plants. By leveraging these strengths, there is a need to carry out garden plant oriented diverse experiences and educational programs. Moreover, it is necessary to continue to collect the garden plants that are worthy of viewing for characterization, and to carry out research that increase evaluation and publicity of new plant types and to increase their usability.