7.9 out of 10 Koreans Say "Arbor Day Date Needs to Be Changed"

The Korea Forest Service recently confirmed through a public awareness survey that the majority of people recognize the importance of tree planting and that there is a strong call for changing the date of Arbor Day due to reasons such as climate change. Photo unrelated to the article. Provided by the Korea Forest Service.

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] 79% of the public agreed with changing the date of Arbor Day. They believed that the tree planting period should be moved earlier to respond to climate change. In line with this, the majority of the public also recognized the importance of tree planting.

The Korea Forest Service recently conducted a “Public Awareness Survey on Tree Planting and Changing Arbor Day” and announced these results on the 31st.

The survey was conducted over two days starting from the 22nd, targeting 1,006 adult men and women aged 19 to 79 living in 17 cities and provinces nationwide.

First, 96.6% of respondents said that tree planting is important to respond to climate change. Among them, 81.6% answered that it is “very important.”

Additionally, 79.2% of respondents agreed that the tree planting period should be moved earlier to better respond to climate change.

The argument for moving Arbor Day earlier has been continuously raised. The primary reason is that spring weather conditions are changing due to climate change.

It is noted that temperatures in March have risen enough to be suitable for planting trees, and planting trees in March is actually more favorable for their growth than in April.

Furthermore, as the importance of tree planting for carbon neutrality has recently been emphasized, the Korea Forest Service stresses that opinions to reconsider the date and meaning of Arbor Day from a future-oriented perspective have been steadily continuing.

On the other hand, 37.2% of respondents were negative about changing the date of Arbor Day. The reasons for opposition included the strong existing perception of Arbor Day being on April 5 and the relatively low temperatures in March for tree planting.

In the survey, 59.0% of all respondents said they had experience planting trees in spring. The periods when trees were planted were highest in early April (42.1%) and mid to late March (27.0%).

Among respondents without tree planting experience, reasons cited included “lack of opportunity (37.3%)” and “difficulty finding a suitable place to plant trees (24.6%).”

However, 85.4% of respondents knew the exact date of Arbor Day (April 5). Meanwhile, 5.3% of respondents incorrectly knew the date, and 9.4% either did not know the date or refused to answer.

Regarding the meaning Arbor Day should embody, the highest response rates were “a day to raise awareness of the importance of tree planting (53.5%)” and “the most suitable day for tree planting (22.7%).”

The Korea Forest Service plans to use the survey results to finalize whether to change the date of Arbor Day and to proceed with related procedures.

Choi Byung-am, head of the Korea Forest Service, said, “Through the survey, we confirmed that the majority of the public shares a consensus that tree planting is important to respond to climate change,” adding, “The Korea Forest Service will continue to listen to and reflect public opinion in discussions about changing Arbor Day.”

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