Chungnam, Seocheon 'Healing Forest' Opening and Expansion of Forest Welfare Facilities

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is expanding forest welfare facilities within the region. The plan aims to accommodate the increasing demand for forest welfare services and link forests with local tourism.

According to the province on the 23rd, the number of visitors to natural recreation forests in the region increased by 500,000 from 1.6 million in 2010 to 2.1 million last year. This is attributed to higher national income and an increase in leisure travelers spending time in forests.

In response to this trend, the province plans to invest 24 billion KRW this year to expand forest welfare service facilities.

The core of the project is to improve existing natural recreation forest facilities and increase healing forests. Specifically, this year the province will carry out a natural recreation forest supplementation project to remodel aging facilities such as forest houses and renovate healing spaces, convenience, recreation, and safety facilities.

Additionally, healing forest creation projects will be promoted in Taehaksan in Pungse-myeon, Cheonan City, Hyangjeoksan in Gyeryong City, and Jumisam area in Gongju City to enhance forest healing roles in response to increased healing demand and low birthrate and aging population.

In particular, the province plans to open the healing forest in Jongcheon-myeon, Seocheon County, which has been under development since 2017, in July. Furthermore, by 2022, the province intends to newly establish the first coastal natural recreation forest in the central region within Wonsando Island.

This year, detailed design work for the establishment of Wonsando natural recreation forest will be promoted. Once opened, the Wonsando natural recreation forest is expected to become a new tourism hub in the region, coinciding with the opening of the Boryeong?Taean Undersea Tunnel and Bridge, according to the province.

In addition, the province plans to create forest spaces suitable for forest sports activities around Cheonan and Hongseong areas.

Lee Sang-chun, Director of the Forest Resources Division of the province, said, “We will ensure that practical forest welfare services are provided to residents through the expansion and improvement of forest recreation facilities.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.