Korea Forest Service Mandates Inspection of Designated Forest Cultural Assets with Enforcement Decree Revision

A panoramic photo of the bamboo forest within Damyang Juknokwon, Chungbuk, designated as a forest cultural asset by the Korea Forest Service. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A management foundation for designated forest cultural assets has been established.

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 19th that it has amended and implemented the "Forest Culture and Recreation Act and Enforcement Decree," which mandates the inspection of protection and management status of designated forest cultural assets and adds prohibited acts in places such as natural recreation forests.

Designated forest cultural assets refer to tangible and intangible assets with high ecological, scenic, and emotional preservation value formed in or related to forests. Currently, there are 60 designated forest cultural assets appointed by the Korea Forest Service.

However, as forest cultural assets have recently gained public recognition, the number of tourists visiting for experiential tourism has increased, leading to cases of misuse and damage to these assets, making active protection and systematic management necessary.

Accordingly, the Korea Forest Service amended related laws and enforcement decrees to make inspections of designated forest cultural assets mandatory.

In addition, acts such as damaging facilities within natural recreation forests and behaviors that cause discomfort to others are prohibited, establishing a legal basis for providing citizens with forest culture and recreation services in a safe and pleasant environment.

Kim Yong-gwan, Director of the Forest Welfare Bureau at the Korea Forest Service, stated, “By establishing grounds for the protection and management of forest cultural assets, we will preserve and utilize designated forest cultural assets as forest tourism resources and contribute to revitalizing the local economy.”

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