Haenam-gun Opens Healing Forest at Heukseoksan Natural Recreation Forest

740m Barrier-Free Deck and Oak Tree Colony Created, Healing Programs Also Operated

Myeong Hyun-gwan, Haenam County Governor, stopped by the Heukseoksan Healing Forest opening ceremony and is listening to an explanation from a forest interpreter. (Photo by Haenam County)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] The Healing Forest located in Heukseoksan Natural Recreation Forest in Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, opened on the 22nd.

According to Haenam-gun, the Healing Forest, situated in a 50-hectare oak grove area around Heukseoksan, began construction in 2015 and was completed after five years with a project cost of 3.8 billion KRW.

The site includes one Healing Center (180㎡), one program room (104㎡), walking trails, and a 2-hectare healing garden. The Healing Center serves as a resting space for visitors, where their physical condition can be measured, and various forest healing programs will be operated.

In particular, the Healing Forest features a 740-meter barrier-free deck path and a 350-meter Heuk (Black) stone path centered around the oak grove, which emits a high amount of negative ions, allowing visitors to walk through the phytoncide-rich forest trails for healing.

Designed to minimize buildings and preserve the forest ecology and natural environment by utilizing the functions of the recreation forest, the Healing Forest received the Jeollanam-do Eco-friendly Design Grand Prize in 2020.

The opening ceremony held on the 22nd was attended by a minimal number of about 30 people, including County Governor Myeong Hyeon-gwan, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Governor Myeong said, “The importance of forest resources has grown unimaginably after COVID-19,” and added, “We expect that the Heukseoksan Healing Forest, in connection with the natural recreation forest and the children's forest experience center, will establish itself as a complex forest healing complex and a hub for forest tourism and recreation.”

The county plans to operate forest healing programs that offer opportunities for stress recovery and healing through activities such as forest bathing, warm-up exercises, walking forest trails while listening to forest explanations, experiencing forest scents, sunbathing in the forest, soaking feet in water and washing, oak tree experiences, and forest yoga or meditation.

These programs will be operated in compliance with daily quarantine rules amid the COVID-19 situation. Those wishing to participate in the forest healing programs can apply through the Heukseoksan Healing Forest website. The participation fee is 5,000 KRW.

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