The top 10 news of Korea Forest Service in 2005

1. Pine wilt disease is heading north to Gangwon province.
" Defend BeakDu mountain system to the last"

There is no remedy for the pine wilt disease so pine wilt disease-infected trees are almost doomed to death. The epidemic of it is so serious and devastating that a special legislation to protect pine trees should be made. This year fourteen cities or districts have been affected so in total 52 ones have been affected and the total damaged areas is 5,111ha.

*Pine wilt disease is caused by the pinewood nematode. The pinewood nematode was introduced in 1988 by infected timber from Japan and found in Mt.
Geumjeong in Busan for the first time.
The pinewood nematode is transmitted to conifers by pine sawyer beetles when the sawyer beetles feed on the bark and phloem of twigs of susceptible live trees.

2. The forest fire in Yangyang fanned out to Nacksansa.

The fire caused a huge damage not only to individuals’ property but also to cultural assets such as a thousand old temple, Nacksansa, which made Koreans
feel sorry.

The fire from the North Korea fanned out down to the South. Therefore, with
cooperation of the North, fire helicopters were allowed to enter DMZ(Demilitarized
Zone) and control the fire, which was the first time.

3. Decision on protected areas of Beakdu Mountain System
boosting Korea’s spirits

The protected areas of Beakdu Mountain System have been designated in order to
preserve the core of forest ecosystem in Korea and establish the fundamental
management system to prevent those areas from destroying indiscreetly.

*Beakdu Mountain System is ranges of mountains forming the backbone of the
country that extends about 1,400km from Mt.Beakdu in the north down to Mt. Jiri
in the south.

4. Framework Act on Forest

Now that Korea Forest Service has tried to categorize Forest Law, considering each function and completed Forest Law System with 12 fields, based on Framework Act on Forest. Forests can be reborn as forests of people, providing recreational space.


5. Plan on dismissing Pinus rigida trees from forests.

Pinus regida trees have been instrumental in afforesting degraded forests for
ninety nine years. Now the plan is set to lumber Pinus regida trees and to plant fruit trees instead for improvement in forest competitiveness.

6. The IUFRO World Congress will be held in Seoul.

IUFRO International Union of Forest Research Organizations is the global network for forest science cooperation.
The IUFRO declared Seoul to host the IUFRO World Congress in 2010.
All the world will recognize South Korea’s efforts to afforest its land and success in afforestation.

7. Tree Planting Day is going down in history.

It has been about 60 years since Tree Planting Day was enacted as a national holiday in 1949. Its name will be converted to a memorial day and it will be not a national holiday anymore from next year.

8. Blue ocean can be found in forests.
There is a 10 year plan on expanding sinks for greenhouse gas reduction project and forest tending project in accordance with Kyoto Protocol : UNFCCC ( The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change)

9. For a summer resort, recreation forests are taking off.

Thanks to some phenomenon, such as so-called "well-being summer holiday" and family-oriented holiday, recreation forests are very popular among holidaymakers
who tend to go to beaches for summer holidays. As a result, the booking rate of recreation forest has soared rapidly. The competitive rate is 252:1 at highest.

10. Tree Funeral Service : "I’d like to be buried under a tree after I die"

Tree funeral service has been discussed among private organizations and socially notable people for a new funeral culture.
Tree funeral service is environmentally friendly and can be an alternative service for the traditional funeral allegedly causing several social problems.
* Tree funeral service: first burning a corpse and burying powered bones under a tree.
It has a significant meaning that a human being goes back to nature where he came from and a human being and a tree live together symbiotically.

International Cooperation Division
(☎+82-42-481-4172)