The Green Forest in Korea

By Dr. Wha Soo Park  

I wrote this essay, when I was thinking about how valuable green forests are to us.  I came to Bolivia as part of KOICA’s World Friend Advisor program last December, and now I am working as an economic consultant at the Ministry of Planning and Development. Before coming here, I was extremely worried about the altitude, but I haven’t had any problems here in La Paz.  I guess the green forest around my apartment in Calacoto produces oxygen that helps to relieve headaches.

It is a pleasure for me to tell a story about Korean mountains that have changed from a desperately bleak forest into a lush green forest. Anybody who has visited Korea in recent years says that the first impression they have of Korea is that of mountains covered with lush green forests. However, 60 years ago, visitors to Korea said their first impression was that of grey mountains covered with bleak forest.

In Korea an ancient heating system is used in houses called the ‘On-dol’ system, which consists of narrow paths of flat stones being installed under the floors in each room of the house. These are heated by burning wood used for cooking in the kitchen.  Dried wood and leaves were mostly burned for heating and cooking. As a result, a lot of trees were cut down before they could grow in the mountains, and all fallen leaves were scratched. I, myself, used to scratch fallen pine leaves in the mountains for cooking and heating, when I was a young boy in the 1960’s.

Korea had been colonized by Japan for 35 years since 1910. The Japanese cut down good trees in the mountains to build houses in Japan, and for the World War, and we also faced Korean wars in 1950. Korean mountains were damaged and ruined by people and wars.

Green forest preservation was a high priority policy for former President Park. He prohibited the entrance to the mountains without specific permission, unless it was a regular route. If anybody violated this law, there was a heavy penalty to pay. One of the most important responsibilities of county governors was to keep forests green in the mountains, and to prevent forest fires. If there was a serious forest fire in a region, the governor would be expected to resign immediately.

Burning wood in the kitchen was replaced by coal briquettes all across the country. The Regional Forest Associations led this innovation in kitchens, and the government gave subsidies to briquette companies to help bring the price down. Some incidents of poisoning from briquettes occurred.

The government made the 5th of April the official day for planting trees, and encouraged all public and private agencies to plant trees in the mountains every year. The 5th of April is still the official day for planting trees and protecting them.

Mountain forests have gradually turned greener.  The mountains which make up 60% of the total land have been changing from brown to green, providing fresh air always, and colorful views in the fall.

Koreans enjoy mountain climbing every weekend. No matter how green the mountains are, the On-Dol system could not be changed significantly, as it has been a traditional Korean custom for such a long time. Even though briquettes have since been replaced by gas, the ‘On-Dol’ system is now mainly used for heating with steam pipes under the floors in apartments. I think the ‘On-Dol’ system in Korea is unique in the world.

I am not sure that brown mountains in La Paz can be covered with green forest. I guess it will be difficult due to the geological nature of La Paz. I do not intend to compare Korean mountains with Bolivian mountains. I only intend to emphasize the nobility of green forest and conservation, as a valuable heritage to hand down to future generations. 

Do you know of any other examples of countries that value their environment as much as their growth? Leave a reply below.