The Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault (BGSV) is the world’s only wild plant seed storage facility.
The BGSV in Korea is one of only two built worldwide – the other is Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, which focuses on preserving crop seeds for food resources for future generations. The BGSV also serves the purpose of storing wild plants that are on the verge of extinction, on top of food resource plants.
The idea of building a Seed Vault in South Korea initially began with the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in 2010. Officially launched in 2016 and designated a national security facility since 2019, the BGSV’s main purpose is to secure biodiversity from threats such as natural disasters, climate change and war, to support sustainable life for human beings.
Facts about the BGSV:
- it is located 600 m above sea level and 46 m below ground
- the Korean Government is reponsible for its safety and security
- all seeds are stored at -20 degrees C and 40% RH
- there are no fees for storing, protecting, and conserving seeds
- all seeds of domestic wild plants of an institute or seed bank in your country can be stored.
For more information on the BGSV, please see the BGSV_brochure.
If you are interested in storing your seeds at the BGSV, please:
- telephone +82-54-679-2768, 2770
- e-mail seedvault@koagi.or.kr
- visit www.bdna.or.kr/eng/ (please note, the website is currently being updated).