2024 edition - The life-source garden

16. Le jardin de l’ancêtre

The garden of Great Grand Mother

published at 29/01/2024

Le jardin de l’ancêtre, Festival International des Jardins, 2024 © E. Sander

Jeju Island, created by Seolmundae, a divine being that Koreans like to consider as their great grandmother, was the inspiration for this garden. Due to its areas with tropical, warm, sub-Arctic and Alpine environments, this island is home to one of the most diversified ecosystems on the Korean peninsula. Here, Korea’s naturally formed Gotjawal Forest is transposed into everyday life. It is a representation of the special features of this rock formation, mainly comprised of volcanic rock, intertwined with trees and creeping vines.

This natural garden reproduces the diverse biological habitats on Jeju, acting as a rainwater tank, a natural sponge that absorbs groundwater and a forest that purifies the air. An ode to biodiversity and tradition that keeps myths alive, this garden is a demonstration of gratitude. It encourages us to preserve all the living havens that exist on Earth and to multiply them by following their example.

DESIGNERS

DRA DESIGN GROUP -Jeong Ah PARK and Gyoung Sok SON, landscapers-

SOUTH KOREA

Jeong-ah Park is a landscape designer who deeply appreciates the beauty of nature, trees, and urban parks. She has a particular interest in the renewal of aging urban parks, focusing on the green spaces within city centres, and has chosen this as the topic for her doctoral dissertation. She has been involved in various landscape design projects, including the design of the Forest School at the National Arboretum, reforestation design for the National Baekdu-daegan Arboretum, and the basic plan for the Hwasun Dolmen Garden. She has also executed numerous garden projects. In 2023, she was selected for the outdoor garden sector at the Suncheonman International Garden Expo 2023, as well as the artist garden competition for the 3^rd Jeollanam-do Garden Festival, where she not only designed but also received a prize. In 2023, she served as a mentor artist for the practical training garden in the field of garden creation for students in the Daejeon region. Additionally, she was selected for the LH Public Housing Artist Garden competition in 2023, completing the design and scheduling construction. Her areas of interest include climate change and biodiversity, and she primarily designs gardens that reflect these concepts. Through the valuable opportunity provided by the Chaumont-sur-Loire, she aspires to create nature-oriented gardens in Korea and hopes to use this platform to widely introduce Korea's K-Garden to the world.

Gyoung-sok Son currently serves as the CEO of DRA Design Group, where he is involved in the design and construction of parks, gardens, arboretums, nature resorts, and resorts. He completed his Ph.D. program in Tourism Development at Kookmin University's Graduate School in Korea and earned a master's degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from Beijing University of Technology in China. In Korea, he received awards for participating in the 2022 Korea Garden Show Artist Garden and the 2023 Gyeonggi Garden Culture Exhibition Artist Garden. He has been involved in numerous projects, including the design and supervision of the National Arboretum Forest School, design of the Goyang World Flower Fair, design of the Anmyeondo International Flower Fair, reforestation design for the National Baekdu-daegan Arboretum, design of the Deokpyeong Rest Area, design of Alpensia Resort in Pyeongchang, and the design of the Kangwon Land High1 Resort. Internationally, he has contributed to projects such as the design and supervision of the KeNya Kipipiri Golf Resort, design of the Inner Mongolia Hohhot Golf Resort, landscape design and supervision of the Weihai Stone Bay Golf Course, and the design of resorts in Cambodia, including Angkor Wat.

DESIGNERS

GARDEN SPONSORED BY

GARDEN CREATED WITH SUPPORT FROM

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