Go big! (5/30/19)

Inside Seoul's city hall which houses the largest botanical garden in the world

I grew up in Texas and I often heard, "everything is bigger in Texas." I feel the same can be said of South Korea. Today we visited the Seoul City Hall. Inside was an unexpected surprise. There, in luscious green splendor, was wall after wall of live plants from the floor to ceiling. The height was an impressive 25 meters high and recorded in the Guinness Book of World records as the largest botanical garden in the world.

Seoul has been nothing like I pictured in my mind before arriving. I expected a mega-city to be full of cement and hot walkways that were dirty with litter and worn from neglect. I was expecting something similar to New York City, Houston, or Tokyo. I imagined that finding green space would be like finding an oasis in the desert-a small area of respite from the concrete jungle. Seoul is nothing like the other mega-cities I have had the opportunity to visit. In Seoul, it is really hard to find any areas without green space. Walkways are shaded with trees, sidewalks are fragrant with the smells of roses blooming, and benches are dotting the walk-able sidewalks so you can rest your weary feet or just enjoy the scenery.

Even though the country was literally deforested less than 60 years ago, the citizens have turned their landscape back into a lush, green, ecologically friendly country. The mountain in this picture was practically stripped bare following the Korean War which ended in 1953. (Imagine NO trees) Between citizen volunteerism and intentional government planning, it's hard to imagine the mountain being bare, war-scarred, and basically useless; but yet, it was.

What precious insights can I bring back to my county and community? First of all, that green space should not be seen as a luxury, but as necessary to benefit the health of the community.

Secondly, that dedication, hard work, and community involvement to ecological improvement, can produce results that seem miraculous.