Since the Wood Culture Index Survey, Daejeon City and Gangwon-do Achieve Highest Scores Ever

2022 Wood Culture Index Infographic. Provided by the Korea Forest Service

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] This year, the Wood Culture Index recorded the highest score since its inception. In the rankings by metropolitan cities and provinces, Daejeon and Gangwon-do each secured the top spot.

According to the Korea Forest Service on the 29th, this year's Wood Culture Index scored 62.0 points, an increase of 1.5 points compared to the previous year. This score is also significant as it is the highest since the survey began in 2016.

This year, the average Wood Culture Index was 52.9 points for metropolitan cities and 70.1 points for provinces. Among them, Daejeon received 65.4 points, the highest among metropolitan cities, and Gangwon-do ranked first among provincial-level regions with 77.1 points.

Notably, Daejeon received a Wood Culture Index of over 60 points for the first time this year, and Jeonbuk Province drew attention for having the largest increase in the index compared to the previous year.

These regions increased the proportion of wooden architecture in public facilities and operated wood culture experience centers using a suitable mix of face-to-face and non-face-to-face methods despite the spread of COVID-19.

The Wood Culture Index is an indicator that simultaneously measures the level of wood utilization from local wood production to wooden architecture and the awareness level of local residents. It has been measured annually since 2016 for 17 metropolitan cities and provinces under the "Act on Sustainable Use of Wood."

The reflected indicators include the "Establishment of Wood Utilization Infrastructure," which measures how easy it is to produce wood locally, such as forest area and the number of wood production companies; the "Activation of Wood Utilization," which measures how easily local residents can access and use wood through promotional activities; and the "Wood Culture Awareness," which gauges the degree to which the public recognizes wood culture in daily life.

The Korea Forest Service provides expert advice based on the Wood Culture Index to help local governments establish related policies.

Additionally, local governments that achieve excellent results in the Wood Culture Index measurement receive awards and prize money from the Korea Forest Service Commissioner.

Starting next year, the results of local governments' Wood Culture Index measurements will also be reflected in joint evaluations of local governments.

Shim Sang-taek, Director of the Forest Industry Policy Bureau at the Korea Forest Service, said, "The rise in the Wood Culture Index indicates that a national consensus on the importance of wood utilization is being formed," and added, "The Korea Forest Service plans to expand policies that promote wood utilization integrated with local community conditions and lifestyle culture next year as well."

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