Before the 20th century, the major part of forest in Korea was owned by country and some was occupied by village community and individual. However forest ownership was classified as the national, public and private forest according to the forest survey to exploit Korean forest resources by Japan after 1910.
In early the 20th Century, the Japanese harvested the total volume of about 500 million cubic metres in Korean Peninsula, and in 1945 the average volume per ha in Korea dropped to 14 cubic metres from 45 cubic metres in 1910.
Table 3. The change of forest area and volume in Korea by period
Classification |
Unit |
1910 |
1945 |
1960 |
1990 |
1995 |
Area Volume Vol. per ha |
mil. ha mil. m3 m3 |
15.7 710 45 |
16.3 219 14 |
6.7 63.9 10 |
6.5 248 38 |
6.5 309 47 |
Source: Forestry Administration
Note: Data before 1945 is the data of the Korean Peninsula.
In Korea, as of 1995, forest land is about 6.5 million ha, representing 65% of the total land area. However, the forest land per capita is very low at 0.15 ha, only 20% of world average. Among the forest land, about 70% is under normal forest management. The other 30% of forest land has been designated for special purposes such as urban planning areas, military reserve areas, and cultural resources protection areas, which restricts normal forest management practices.
The total stock volume is 309 million cubic metres and the average stock volume per ha is estimated to be 47 cubic metres in 1995. Compared to ther countries, these stock volume seems pretty poor. However this figure is much higher than 10 cubic metres in 1960s when much of the forests was degraded and destroyed. Now we can no longer see the bare mountains throughout country due to the massive reforestation. The annual growth rate is estimated at 4.9%.
Now forest lands are classified into national, public and private forest by ownership and are also divided into reserve (for production and public welfare) and semi-reserve (for industrial) forests by utilization.
National forest, which are 21% (1,382 million ha) of the total forest land, are mostly managed by 24 National Forest Stations. The national forest can be subdivided into permanent and disposable forests. Most of national forests are permanent forests and they are usually managed for timber production, land conservation, scientific research, development of forestry techniques, preservation of both historical relics and tangible cultural heritage, and other public benefits. Disposable national forest may be converted to other uses. At the end of 1993, the average stock volume of the national forest was 68 cubic metres per ha, which was greater than the national average, 43 cubic metres per ha. Public forest owned by local governments comprise about 8% (0.491 million ha) of the total forest land. Public forests contain only 7% of the total stock volume and their average stock volume per ha is low compares to the national forests.
If we consider the fact that the ratio of the public ownership of forest land averages over 70% in the world, then the 29% of national and public forest is not sufficient to accomplish the national forestry policy in Korea. Besides the barrier of small area, most are located in the top area of mountain and are also scattered in a lot of small pieces.
To efficiently manage the national forest, Forestry Administration has enhanced its capabilities in various ways; first, enlargement and grouping of the national forest lands; second, improvement of the public functions of forests; and third, improvement of basic forest management infrastructure. The area of national forests has been slowly increased by the National Forest Extension Policy initiated by the Forest Administration. This Policy is in progress now, and the long-term goal is to increase the size of national forests up to 40% of total forest land in Korea. Also, it is expected to develop the public forest actively in some provinces according to the local self-government system started from 1995 in Korea.
Private forest occupy 71% (4,586 million ha) of the total forest lands. They are owned by private individual and organizations such as people's parties, families, and cooperative groups. The number of private forest owners is about 2 million. But 96% of the owners own less than 10 ha of forest to a total forest area of about 52.5%, so the ownership scale is very small; this trend is accelerating. The main purposes of private forests are for the burial places and the propagation of property.
Table 4. Status of private forest ownership in Korea (1993)
Forest size (ha) |
No. of owner |
% |
Forest area (ha) |
% |
- 0.5 0.5 - 1 1 - 5 5 - 10 10 - 20 20 - 50 50 - 100 100 + Total |
940,613 253,795 561,184 118,787 51,719 21,601 4,435 2,229 1,954,363 |
48.1 13.0 28.7 6.1 2.6 1.1 0.2 0.2 100.0 |
143,495 186,068 1,307,687 823,671 707,200 632,700 300,859 589,266 4,690,946 |
3.1 4.0 27.9 17.5 15.1 13,5 6.4 12.5 100.0 |
Source: Ministry of Home Affair
The most represented forest in Korea is the coniferous forest. Coniferous forests account for 45.9% of the total forest, while deciduous, mixed and other forests constitute 26.6%, 27.3% and 3.0% respectively in 1995. The major tree species of Korean forest are red pine, Korean white pine, larch and oak species.
By the 1960s, forest lands in the Republic of Korea were severely depleted as a result of population pressure, fuel wood demand and the Korean War. In 1961, the unstocked forest land accounted for 41% of the total forest land area. Between 1961 and 1995, stocked forest land increased from 4 million hectares to 6.3 million hectares, as a result of a large-scale reforestation programme.
Table 5. Forest land area by forest type (Unit: 1,000 ha)
Forest Type |
1967 |
1970 |
1975 |
1981 |
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
TOTAL Stocked forest Coniferous Non-Coniferous Mixed Non-stocked forest Bamboo Unsurveyed |
6,639 5,650 2,946 1,238 1,226 942 4 43 |
6,611 5,693 3,268 1,206 1,219 854 7 52 |
6,635 5,976 3,201 1,099 1,676 647 5 8 |
6,563 6,287 3,256 1,150 1,881 246 5 25 |
6,531 6,263 3,281 1,159 1,823 244 5 19 |
6,476 6,278 3,079 1,389 1,810 174 8 16 |
6,452 6,263 2,876 1,668 1,710 188 8 0 |
Source: Forestry Administration, Republic of Korea.
Note: Number may not add to total due to rounding
Note: Forestry Administration established in 1967, and published the 1st Statistical Yearbook of Forestry. Forestry Administration didn't publish the Statistical Yearbook in 1981, so there is no data for 1980.
Up to now, Korea has reforested the 3.97 million ha of forest, and planted 10,864 million seedlings of which conifers are 2.59 million ha, fast growing trees are 0.94 million ha and nut bearing trees approximately 0.42 million ha. Of the conifers, Japanese Larch (Larix leptolepis (S. et Z) Gordon) is 0.67 million ha, Pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) is 0.54 million ha, Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis S. et Z.) is 0.35 million ha, Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa (S. et Z.) Endl) is 0.12 million ha. In the fast growing trees, Italian poplar (Populus euramericana Guinier) is 0.67 million ha, Suwon hybrid poplar (Populus tomentiglandulosa T. Lee) is 0.18 million ha. In the nut bearing trees, Chestnut (Castanea crenata S. et Z.) is planted in 0.26 million ha.
Table 6. Reforestation by National Forest Development Plan
Classification |
Total reforestation Area No. of seedling |
Remarks | |
|
Total 62-72 73-78 (1st Forest Plan) 79-87 (2nd Forest Plan) 88-94 (3rd Forest Plan) |
thou. ha 3,974 1,649 1,080 966 278 |
mill. seedling 10,864 4,617 2,960 1,915 719 |
For erosion control & fuelwood estb. For fast growing tree plantation For commercial reforestation For natural forest management |
Source: Forestry Administration
Especially important was the establishment of fuelwood forests, of which 1 million ha were accomplished through the aid of IBRD projects in 1970s. Black locust (Robinia pseudoaccacia L.) was planted one of species for the fuelwood forest. Recently because of the rapid economic development, the fuelwood is less needed and the purpose of Black locust plantations has changed to timber production and beekeeping industry based on the flower of Black locust (this is one of the most promising businesses to increase the income of forest owners).
It was possible to accomplish the massive planting project in short period by the participation of forest owners, village residents and the government and other public organization. Such large scale project based on the participation of the village residents is a rare case in the world. In Korea, it is possible because of the village community called "Sanrimgae", which is organized for forest protection from several hundred years ago.
Also government provides a financial support about 35 - 87% of planting expenses for slow-growing conifer and 32 - 43% for fast-growing tree species up to now. The loan period of financing for plantation projects is for 35 years (repayment in 15 years after a 20-year grace period) in slow-growing species and 15 years (repayment in 5 years after a 10-year grace period) in fast-growing species planting. Currently IRR of conifer has dropped to 3%, so government is trying to provide 100% of expenses by financing. Several additional benefits are also offered to forest owner who planted trees by providing reductions of income tax and exemptions of inheritance tax. Also various technical assistance and extension services are available to forest land owners.
However, after reforestation, forest owner have harvested the fuelwood forest and fast growing tree like Acasia and Alnus, and changed forest lands into other purposes to increase the benefit of land use. Because of these reason and silviculture failure, the remaining reforestation area is about 2.50 million ha of which the reforested areas in mountain zones is 2.04 million ha, and so the ratio of artificial reforestation is about 32%. However recently annual artificial reforestation area has been reduced because of policy change in favour of natural forest tending, and due to economic difficulties such as shortage of forest labour and slump of log prices. The artificial reforestation's target of Government is for plantations to make up 50% of forests.
Table 7. Forest area and stock by age class
Year |
Area (1,000 ha) |
Stock (1,000,000 seedling) | ||||||||||
Total |
-10 |
-20 |
-30 |
-40 |
-50 |
Total |
-10 |
-20 |
-30 |
-40 |
-50 | |
1970 1980 1990 1995 |
5,741 6,287 6,278 6,255 |
3,755 3,134 1,633 1,093 |
1,106 2,151 2,572 2,513 |
565 553 1,470 1,999 |
228 325 444 469 |
77 123 159 181 |
69 152 249 309 |
3 5 3 - |
19 71 103 106 |
27 28 81 128 |
14 32 43 51 |
6 15 19 24 |
Source: Forestry Administration
In the 19th century, Korea had comparatively rich old-growth forests in some regions. However, these forests were mostly destroyed by over-cutting and illegal harvest throughout the Colonial Period of 1910-1945 and Korean War of 1950-1953.
The Forest Law of 1961 required the Forestry Administration to set up the national forest plan every 10 years in order to establish and manage the forest resources efficiently. Local governments should set up local forest plans on the basis of the direction of the national forest plan.
A turning point in Korean forestry was witnessed in 1973 with the initiation of the First 10 Year Forest Development Plan which targeted the reforestation of denuded forest lands as early as possible; 1 million ha was to be planted within 10 years under the following objectives: First, to implement the national tree planting movement through the participation of all people in various reforestation projects; second, to develop new economic zones of forest lands directly connecting the goals of land conservation and income enhancement by reforestation and forest production; thirds, to achieve rapid reforestation of denuded forest land through the planting of fast-growing tree species; and fourth, to accomplish the stabilization of shifting cultivation based on fire.
In particular, government has appointed the month of April as the 'National Tree Planting Period' for the best time to plant trees. The government also encouraged various groups such as villages, families, and schools to participate in the reforestation programme. In this period, remarkable progress was made in forest protection by minimizing artificial damage to forests by prohibiting the access to mountains and the formation of rural fuelwood forests.
Through the implementation of this movement, the First 10 Year Plan which was originally planned to be completed in 1982, accomplished with the reforestation of 1.08 million ha in 1978.
The basic objectives of the Second 10 Year Forest Development Plan were to build large scale commercial forest zones for production of industrial timber. For efficient implementation of the plan, the government initiated various forest policies: the strengthening of the national reforestation plan, the expansion of forest protection activities, the enlargement of the forest development funds for supporting private forest management, grouping and enlarging the national forests, and the conducting of forest conservation projects for improving the public benefits of forests.
Especially financial and administrative support by the government were to encourage the reforestation activities and the cooperative management of small scale private forests.
The major accomplishments in this period were first, the reforestation of 966 thousand ha with the formation of 80 large scale group commercial forest zones (325 thousand ha). Continuous management of natural forests and juvenile artificial plantations was also carried out. Erosion control works were undertaken in accordance with the principle of regional completion on denuded of forest areas.
Second, helicopter purchasing project started to implement the forest fire prevention and aerial control of diseases by government. Scientific prevention of forest diseases and insect damages was also undertaken using biological control methods. Nevertheless, the perfect prevention method against pine needle gall midge (Thecodiplosis japonensis Uchida et Inoue) which is a critical enemy of pine forests, has not yet been developed.
Third, the Forest Works Training Centre was established to raise the level of mechanization in forest activities and to train forest technicians. Also, forest road construction was regularized and 786 km of forest roads were constructed.
In this period, Forestry Administration propelled the forest project with FAO. Dr. Schreuder, Professor of University of Washington in USA, who participated in the FAO project on forest management in Korea, mentioned assessment of the commercial utilization potential of Korea's forest resource as follows: "Korea's forest resource is only partly composed of desirable species. Of those species with commercial potential, such as oak species and Red pine, stands are generally in poor condition and timber from these forests in next 10-20 years will be low grades and small dimensions. The major end use will be pulpwood. White pine is generally in good condition. It is very slow growing species, and has potential for both pulpwood and construction end uses. However, it only accounts 1% of the resource. Japanese larch, Pitch pine and poplar species, although planted extensively, are generally unsuitable for pulp manufacturing or construction end uses."
After successful reforestation campaigns, the Forestry Administration was transferred from the Ministry of Home Affairs to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishery as a means of strengthening forest resource establishment policies in 1988. At the same time, the 3rd 10 Year Plan based on the experience of the 1st and 2nd plans was launched.
The objective of the Forest Resources Enhancement Plan (The 3rd National Forest Plan) is to harmonize the goals of increasing the economic development of forests and improving public benefits from the forests. Although reforestation was nearly completed by the 1st and the 2nd 10 year Forest Development Plan, Korea still depends for more than 85% of domestic timber use on imported timber. At the same time, there is also an increasing demand for the conservation of the environment and outdoor recreation in forests. The fundamental object of the 3rd Forestry Development Plan is the improvement of Korea's roundwood self sufficiency to a target of 51% self sufficiency by 2030.
The fundamental targets of the plan are based on maximizing the efficiency of forest land utilization, building a foundation for forest land management, creating forest income sources in rural areas and improving the multiple public benefits of the forests. Under these objectives, the government has established the following priorities.
First, forestry development promotion zones of about 1.52 million ha have been designated in private forests on which government investments will be concentrated. Simultaneously the management system should be modernized through the mechanization of forest works and the designation of adequate management units in national and public forests.
Second, the new concept of multiple use management is introduced, and this new idea promotes harmonious relationships between timber production and the other functions of the forest.
Third, the government plans to enlarge urban forests in city areas and recreation forests in rural areas to provide people clean air, water, and rest spaces.
Additionally the government plans to increase the efficiency of forest activities by improving forest road infrastructure, amend forest laws and forest taxation system, raise forest development funds to implement private forest cooperative management, and finally operate research projects in various fields.
The timber demand for domestic use will continuously increase because of population increase and economic development; however, the growth rate of timber consumption will be reduced in the 2000s. It is inevitable to continue mostly depending on foreign timber resources in the future but in order to establish a stable long-term timber supply, the government needs to increase domestic timber resources and to diversify through forest development investments abroad. In 1993, domestic timber supply was 1.184 million cubic metres, representing 13% rate of self-sufficiency, and the rate of log self-sufficiency is projected to reach 19% in 2000.
The long term forecast for timber demand and supply was established by government to promote stable development of timber industry. In 1993, Forestry Administration and Korea Rural Economic Institute (K.R.E.I.) forecast the forest resources and wood industry to promote stable development of timber industry and sustainable forest management. Because of the difference of assumptions which the two agencies used, the figure forecast are different in future. They predict the long term estimation up to 2010. The forest area will decrease about 70-100 thousand ha, but the volume will increase nearly 100% compared to base year (1992), and average volume per ha will be about 82-89 cubic metres.
There is no big change in the foreign log import in future, and it is expected to increase the domestic log supply up to 2,542 thousand cubic metres in 2000, and to 4,787 thousand cubic metres in 2010. The total "timber" (which includes all wood products combined like the chips and pulp), consumption will increase up to 38% compared to base year (1992). The total timber demand will increase to the 30,735 thousand cubic metres in 2010 and 38,799 thousand cubic metres in 2040. The timber demand of 2040 is nearly 2 times compared to 1992 because of increased population and annual income. The annual timber consumption per capita will be 0.75 cubic metres in 2040 from 0.51 cubic metres in 1992. The domestic roundwood supply will be 13,799 thousand cubic metre in 2040, and overall sufficiency will also increase to 35.6% (for log 59%) from 5% (for log 12%).
Table 8. The scenario of forest resource change
Forecasting |
1992 |
2000 |
2010 |
2020 |
2030 |
2040 | ||
F.A. K.R.E.I. |
Area Volume Vol. per ha Area Volume Vol. per ha |
1,000 ha mill. m3 m3 1,000 ha mill. m3 m3 |
6,464 272 42 6,464 272 42 |
6,410 413 64 6,430 405 63 |
6,363 563 89 6,394 524 82 |
6,335 686 108 6360 642 101 |
6,327 781 123 6,332 714 113 |
6,327 854 135 6,307 830 132 |
Source: Forestry Administration, K.R.E.I.
Note: The figure of forecasting is based on 1992
Table 9. The scenario of demand and supply for timber
Classification |
Unit |
1992 |
2000 |
2010 |
2020 |
2030 |
2040 |
Demand Supply Domestic Import Self-sufficiency |
1,000 m3 1,000 m3 1,000 m3 1,000 m3 % |
22,275 22,275 1,123 21,152 5 |
26,421 26,421 2,542 23,879 9.6 |
30,735 30,735 4,787 25,948 15.6 |
34,563 34,563 7,530 27,033 21.8 |
37,394 37,394 10,852 26,542 29.0 |
38,799 38,799 13,799 25,000 35.6 |
Source: Forestry Administration
Note: Figure of forecasting is based on 1992
A lot of the imported log will be sustainably provided by Korean companies overseas plantation. The share of logs from the overseas plantations of Korean companies will be more than 50% of total imported log amount.
