Glass Greenhouse, Korea Expressway Corporation Jeonju Arboretum (한국도로공사 전주수목원 유리온실)

The arboretum grew out of the building of the Honam Expressway. In 1970 the construction of the motorway left idle land; in February 1974 the Nonsan branch of the Korea Expressway Corporation set up a nursery there. Collecting species to make it an arboretum began in March 1983, the site was renamed Jeonju Arboretum in August 1995, registered with the Korea Forest Service in December 2004 and renamed Korea Expressway Corporation Arboretum in September 2007. In September 2011 the Ministry of Environment designated it an ex situ conservation institution for threatened plants. These dates come from the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture.

The glasshouse appears among the twelve themed areas listed in that encyclopedia (an entry written in 2015 and revised in 2024), then in local press articles in 2024 and a 2026 feature. The operator states that the arboretum produces and supplies trees to restore environments damaged by motorway works, conserves and propagates species and researches native plants, on a non-profit basis and with free access. The encyclopedia gives 34 hectares, the Jeonbuk Domin Ilbo 291,795 m² in 2024; twelve themed areas on one side, twenty-four on the other.

The greenhouse is a building with a glass roof and glass walls, in which light spreads widely over the leaves and the surface of the rocks; on humid days condensation forms on the panes. The aisles inside are narrower than the paths in the rest of the arboretum. Within, the planting is laid out in relief around rocks and ferns, with a small pond where koi carp live.

The Jeonbuk tourism office, the encyclopedia and the local press list the glasshouse among the areas of the garden. On the OpenStreetMap map it is drawn as a separate building, between the rose garden and the central lawn, which is how its coordinates were fixed.

According to a 2022 report, the greenhouse gathers several kinds of orchids, aquatic plants, warm-temperate and subtropical plants, cacti and other succulents, and herbs. The author sees it as a place of greenery in winter, when watching plants outdoors becomes difficult. A 2026 feature stresses the rocks, ferns and humidity-loving plants arranged in three dimensions; a small pond shelters koi carp.

Outdoors, the encyclopedia credits the arboretum with 3,410 species of tree genetic resources. The southern-species garden gathers plants from the southern coasts and islands, sheltered from cold northerly winds in winter by a tree wall 15 m wide; the medicinal herb garden holds more than 450 species of native medicinal plants. Eight threatened species, among them the daecheong-buchae, the seokgok and the jinebal-ran, have been followed under ex situ conservation since 2011.

A 2026 feature advises starting with the greenhouse on rainy days or in strong sun, and moving slowly inside because the aisles are narrow and the air can be hot and humid in summer. According to the same source, the rose garden, the water-lily pond, the traditional garden and the greenhouse take an hour and a half to two hours; roses are at their best from late spring to early summer, water lilies in summer and autumn.

The arboretum combines well with Jeonju Hanok Village, the Gyeonggijeon shrine, Deokjin Park or the Palbok Art Factory.