Seoul Grand Park 'Healing Forest'... Special Forest Therapy Program for COVID-19 Medical Staff

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Grand Park announced on the 4th that it is operating a special forest healing program called ‘Gamsadeurim’ (Thank You Dream) in the ‘Healing Forest’ to express gratitude to medical staff responding to COVID-19.

According to Seoul Grand Park, the ‘Gamsadeurim’ program involved medical staff from Dongbu Hospital and Eunpyeong Hospital in 2020, and 96.5% of participants responded positively to the program’s effectiveness in a survey conducted after the program ended. In 2021, medical staff from the Children’s Hospital, Seoul Medical Center, and Dongbu Hospital are scheduled to participate.

‘Forest healing’ refers to activities that utilize various natural elements such as the scent and scenery of the forest to boost the human immune system and promote health. Seoul Grand Park’s ‘Healing Forest’ has been managed by restricting hikers’ access for over 30 years to preserve ecology, creating a natural environment optimized for ‘forest healing.’

The program is conducted for two hours by a professional forest healing instructor and consists of activities using natural forest elements such as forest trail walks, forest bathing, meditation, stretching, sunbathing, foot baths, hydrotherapy, aromatherapy, and tea drinking.

‘Gamsadeurim’ is a group program that can be applied for through the Seoul Grand Park website and the Seoul Public Service Reservation System. The basic schedule runs from Tuesday to Wednesday, and participation is free of charge. Additionally, those who complete the program and wish to do so are given the opportunity to visit Seoul Grand Park’s other facilities, the ‘Rose Garden’ and the ‘Zoo,’ free of charge.

Lee Soo-yeon, director of Seoul Grand Park, said, “With the start of COVID-19 vaccinations, many citizens have hope that they will soon be able to take off their masks,” adding, “I hope that many medical staff, still exhausted from heavy workloads, will regain vitality through the energy given by nature in Seoul Grand Park’s Healing Forest by participating in the ‘Gamsadeurim’ program.”

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