TOP 10 Forest News of 2018

The year 2018 was marked by tangible achievements in the forestry field.
Minister of the Korea Forest Service Dr. KIM Jae-hyun announced top 10 forest stories selected through a survey of journalists and Korea Forest Service (KFS) staff.

1. New hope in North Korea’s forests
Amid the inter-Korean thaw, Minister KIM visited degraded forests in North Korea and saw hope in forest restoration there. The forest cooperation to restore North Korea’s degraded forests is the one of top priorities in the current inter-Korea cooperation.

2. Restoration of downhill skiing slopes in Mt. Gariwang 
Those slopes of Mt. Gariwang were constructed for 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.  The KFS strives to restore the entire slopes and organize a consultation body so as to explore win-win local development strategies for this region.

3. Opening of Baekdudaegan National Arboretum
The Baekdudaegan National Arboretum was officially open to the public in May 2018, which is regarded as the biggest botanical garden in Asia. To protect and restore unique flora and fauna of the Baekdudaegan which is the gigantic mountain range that forms a backbone of the Korean peninsula, the KFS established this Arboretum and Baekdudaegan Global Seed Vault.

4. Korea with forests upgrading our lives
In observing the 1st anniversary of Minister KIM’s inauguration, he announced a master forest plan called “Korea with Forests Upgrading Our Lives” which incorporates harmonized yet differentiated forest policies by territorial land, mountain villages and urban areas.

5. Establishment of Asian Forest Cooperation Organization
10 years of KFS’s effort in greening Asia culminated in 2018 as the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) was officially established. The first Session of the AFoCO Assembly was successfully held in Seoul, November, 2018 to set up the framework of the AFoCO.

6. Tackling fine dust through urban forests
The KFS is striving to tackle fine dust by creating more urban forests so as to reduce environmental impacts and health problems caused by fine dust.

7. More jobs in the field of forestry
The KFS is increasing green jobs in the field of forestry through establishing a job creation station by region as the focus of Korea’s employment policy is placed on creating more jobs.

8. Development of paper battery, the future of energy
The National Institute of Forest Science developed the technology of lithium-icon batteries using the flexible paper-based current which are lightweight and inexplosive.

9. Co-development of comprehensive forest plan between a national forest office and a local government 
National Forest Office Inje Station developed 2018~2017 comprehensive forest plan jointly with Inje district office with the aim of developing eco-tourism models and forest job models.

10. Smart wild fire control during 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
For a successful hosting of 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the KFS made concerted efforts in providing the smart forest fire control system.