Expansion of Private Industry in Forestry Sector, 'Job Creation Effect' Including Tree Doctors

Visitors using forest welfare services are experiencing the forest while listening to explanations from a forest interpreter. Photo by Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The expansion of the private sector in the forestry field is leading to an increase in specialized jobs in related areas.

According to the Korea Forest Service on the 23rd, the number of specialized forestry companies increased by about 8%, from 10,803 at the end of last year to 11,651 as of September this year.

While the domestic industrial sector as a whole has been experiencing a downturn due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), jobs in the forestry sector have actually increased. This also suggests that forests are becoming more deeply embedded within everyday life as they come closer to urban living areas.

Specialized forestry jobs in the daily lives of citizens include tree hospitals, forest welfare specialized businesses, forest technology service businesses and forest projects, and wood production industries.

Tree hospitals are responsible for the professional treatment of trees in living areas, and their jobs have increased in line with the rise of apartment complexes, urban forests, and industrial complexes. In particular, tree hospitals are considered a representative forestry specialized job preferred by young and middle-aged adults.

The increase in people seeking a "pause" in daily life through forests has also influenced the growth of forestry jobs. For example, according to data compiled by the Korea Forest Service, the number of users of forest welfare services increased over the past four years: 19,500 in 2016, 22,493 in 2017, 22,345 in 2018, and 26,145 in 2019.

Moreover, the increase in forest welfare service users has led to the expansion of forest welfare facilities (from 786 last year to 834 as of August this year) and an increase in jobs for forest welfare specialists. In fact, the number of forest welfare specialists increased annually over the past four years: 11,337 in 2016, 12,702 in 2017, 15,675 in 2018, and 19,118 in 2019.

Although not very popular, jobs are also increasing in essential forestry areas such as forest technology service businesses and forest projects. This is thanks to the steady progress of forest projects including tree planting and care, as well as forest disaster prevention and restoration.

In addition, the Korea Forest Service explains that employment creation is increasing in fields related to traditional forestry such as raw wood production, sawmilling, import distribution, and wood production industries, as the "wood utilization culture" spreads recently.

Kim Jong-geun, head of the Forest Job Startup Team at the Korea Forest Service, said, “The Korea Forest Service will continue to activate private markets in various forestry fields and discover new areas such as life industries and forest restoration to continuously increase specialized jobs.”

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