Seaside forests to prevent the nation＇s coastal disasters are being destroyed due to indiscriminate seaside roads, pensions, and leisure complexes, according to the report on the status of the nationwide seaside forests which was revealed by the Green Korea United on July 21. The GKU conducted a three month long survey on the nation＇s seaside forests from April to June. Among 5,920.09km nationwide seashore, the length of seaside forests is 933km, only 15.8%. Many of seaside forests in the nation have been damaged because of negligence in management and indiscriminate development over the last 20 years. The east coast region of Kangwon Province with a high chance of suffering the damages by coastal disasters, especially seismic waves, has seen its seaside forests being damaged by the construction of resorts and other recreational amenities. The damages in seaside forests result, in part, from natural causes, including calamities or damages by blight and harmful insects, but are primarily caused by artificial interferences, such as coastal roads, pensions and leisure complexes, and wrong seashore maintenance projects. The seaside road 1 being under construction in a swimming beach in Myeongsashim-ri, Sai-myeon, Gochang-gun, Cheonlabuk-do, pass through sand dunes, grassland, and seaside forests. The Maengbang swimming beach in Keundeuk-myeon, Samcheok-si, Kangwon-do is seeing a golf course and pensions being built within seaside forests, with a tourist resort development project implemented by Kangwon-do.

Seaside forests serve as a natural breakwater against seismic waves, as do sponges. Destructive power and speed of seismic waves could be significantly diminished depending on levels of formation in seaside forests. A research conducted by the Japanese academic circle shows that in order to mitigate the speed and destructiveness of seismic waves in the east coast of the nation, a 60 meter of width is needed.