Pine trees are one species inhabiting mainly in Korea and also in Japan and China.


Particularly, pine trees in Korea account for one forth of the total forest cover. In the Korean peninsula is almost no piece of land without pine trees, down from Jeju island and up to Mt. Baekdu. It is not very common that one species, pine tree, wildly spreads out over the land in temperate zones like in Korea.


Recently, there has been an increasing tendency that loads of people go to forests for pine aroma in order to release their stress and refresh their mind.


There is a pine tree community 2km south from Anmyeon-eup, called Anmyeonsong. If you do forest bathing in comfortable clothes, relishing the uplifting fragrance of pine trees, all your fatigue and stress will go away. The fragrance of pine trees, called ’phytoncide’, is emitted to protect themselves from harmful microorganisms so it has good effects on the human body as well.


Anmyeonsong, the pine tree community, was chosen by FAO in 2005 as one of outstanding forest management practices in the Asia-pacific region. Trees in there are aged around 100 and grow up straight, showing off their slender look unlike other pine trees in central districts growing curved. Not only are annual rings of them even and narrow in width, and also grain of them is fine, sheeny and solid so these trees have been used diversely from ancient times. According to history archives, they were used for boat manufacture due to their durability during the Goryeo dynasty, and for palace construction or renovation during the Choseon dynasty.


The land of 115ha in Anmyeon island has been designated as a natural forest so as to preserve the pine trees and the Korea Forest Research Institute(KFRI) manages a seed-gathering center of 230ha to produce highbred pine tree seeds.


The pine tree forest in Anmyeon island is generating public benefits, such as recreational function, protection of forest ecosystem and biodiversity, and regional economic growth. It has been well-preserved for more than a thousand year so it will be shortly recognized in the international limelight.






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