Sujaewon Garden

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Founder's Memorial Garden
Mr. Minn Byeong-do, lived by the motto, “Green trees and clean rivers are what we own and need to take good care of for future generations”. This was the motivation for him to start planting trees and flowers and earned him the nickname, “the grandfather of trees.”

After Korea’s liberation from Japanese occupation in 1945, Mr. Minn Byeong-do spent the remainder of his life supporting culture and art, especially in the fields of children’s literature and songs. In 1945, along with Jeong Jin-suk, Yun Seok-jung, Lee Sang-baek and Jo Pung-yeon, Mr. Minn Byeong-do founded Eulyoo Munhwasa, which was the first publishing house in Korea. His purpose was to re-establish the country's entrepreneurial spirit after Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule.

Mr. Minn Byeong-do also established the Joseon Children’s Literature Association and helped Korean children learn their own language (which had been severely restricted under Japanese occupation) by publishing books for them. Later on, Mr. Minn Byeong-do published a Korean alphabet practice workbook for children, a children’s weekly magazine, and the first children’s literary magazine. Saessak.

Mr. Minn continued to support various cultural activities in the fields of music, children's songs and literature. He also founded the first symphony orchestra in the Korea Goryo Symphony Orchestra, together with Hyeon Je-myeong, Lim Won-sik and Gye Jeong-sik. Mr. Minn founded The Membership Society of the National Museum of Contemporary Art to support art museums. Also, Carl Ferris Miller (Korean Name: Minn Byeong-gal), the founder of Chollipo Arboretum, and Mr. Minn's blood brother, and Mr. Minn planted trees on their respective 'gardens' in Chollipo and on Nami Island.

Mr. Minn Byeong-do also served as the governor of the Bank of Korea, chairman of the Grand Hyatt Seoul, and chief director of the educational foundation Whimoon Euisuk. Mr. Minn planted trees with children until he passed away in 2006. By playing host to a variety of cultural events such as the NAM BOOK(Nami Island International Children’s Book Festival) and the Nami Concours (Nami Island International Picture Book Illustration Concours), today's Nami Island has succeeded in carrying out Mr. Minn’s desire to purify the human mind through the unification of nature and culture.