In the 1960s, the Government established 1 million ha of fuelwood forest. However because of the successful economic development and urbanization, the need for fuelwood forest decreased as the dependency on fuelwood as an energy source decreased compared to the past. At present, the ratio of dependency on fuelwood forest is very low: in 1995, a total of 224 thousand M/T was consumed in rural area households.
Table 38. Production of firewood in Korea (Unit: 1,000 M/T)
Year |
1975 |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
Total Firewood Charcoal Branch |
5,604 169 8 2,814 |
4,700 142 9 2,433 |
3,180 269 1 2,334 |
1,401 271 1 897 |
224 75 1 147 |
Source: Forestry Administration
The main monetary product from forest in Korea is the by-products such as chestnut and mushroom. Especially chestnut and mushroom are exported, already contribute to forest owners' income and are expected to increase in future. In case of chestnut, Korea produced 93.6 thousand M/T and of this, 31% was exported in 1995, mostly to Japan. The production of walnut and jujube increased because of the extensive management, increase in cultivated area and household income.
Table 39. Production of non-wood forest product (Unit: M/T)
Classification |
Unit |
1980 |
1985 |
1990 |
1995 | |
Chestnut Oak and Pine Mushroom Jujube Walnut |
Production Export Amount Export Value Production Export Amount Export Value Production Production |
M/T M/T 1,000$ M/T M/T 1,000$ M/T M/T |
42,826 17,798 36,771 1,528 1,012 24,225 641 161 |
72,000 23,594 37,427 3,067 1,750 43,453 3,774 706 |
85,043 36,471 94,279 2,997 1,891 76,595 5,953 906 |
93,654 28,860 114,768 4,106 1,367 79,185 13,180 1,311 |
Source: Forestry Administration
The history of protection forest in Korea started from the Great Korea Empire in 1905 by Forest Law. As of 1995, the area of protection forest in Korea was 208.5 thousand ha, and of this, the area of protection forest for water conservation was 157.8 thousand ha (76% of total protection forest), for scenic beauty 34.5 thousand ha (16%), and for other functions 8%.
A total of 371 species of birds and 95 species of wildlife animals are recorded in Korea. For effective conservation and propagation of wildlife, the Wildlife and Hunting Law was enacted in 1967, which strictly prohibits hunting. However, the law was completely revised on July 1, 1984, for effective protection of wildlife and promotion of sound hunting. Hunting was prohibited from 1972 throughout the country expect for certain areas. The prohibition of hunting was carried out along with the nature conservation campaign. So far thirty two areas have been designated as wildlife protection areas and 32 rare wild animals were designated as natural monuments.
Due to the long-term prohibition of hunting since 1972, wildlife density has increased and some species were overcrowded in certain areas. Therefore, maintaining a desirable density of wildlife and promotion of sound hunting should be considered. Hunting has allowed at two permanent and one temporary hunting area since 1981. Opening of temporary hunting area hunting area during which limited hunting is permitted is done for one province in turn each year. In such cases, hunting in the area is allowed from November 1 to February 28 for 22 bird species and 3 animal species. Anyone who wants hunting must undergo state education for hunting in order to be able to quickly identify game species and for safety.
To preserve natural scenery and to provide a better environment for recreation, the Park Law was enacted in 1967. Park are classified into three categories: National, Provincial and City parks. National parks represented the natural beauty of Korea and the Ministry of Construction can order the designation and management of the park. Provincial parks should represent the characteristics of the provincial beauty and the governor of the province has the right of designation and management. City parks are made under the City Planning Law to provide recreation and green areas for city residents. The number of national park was 17 in 1985 and rose to 20 by 1996. The trend of national parks visitors are shown in Table 40.
Table 40. Trend of National Prak Visitors (Unit: 1,000 person)
Year |
Number of National Park Visitors |
Number of Mountain-type National Park Visitors |
Population |
85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 |
26,420 28,388 31,082 37,989 39,216 39,147 33,976 33,681 32,403 36,398 |
18,560 19,841 22,071 25,380 27,290 26,969 22,390 22,646 22,755 23,985 |
40,806 41,214 41,622 42,031 42,449 42,869 43,268 43,663 44,056 44,456 |
Source: National Park Association
Forestry Administration also permit the development of recreation sites in forests to provide outdoor recreation facilities to people according to the Forest Law. The number of recreation sites in forests was 56 in 1995, and will increase to 100 up to 2010. The visiting number also will be increased rapidly in future.
In 1996, the Forestry Research Institute evaluated the total value of non-timber products of forests - clean water and air production, forest recreation site, forest soil conservation, wildlife protection and etc. - as $41.2 billion, and it increased rapidly compared to past. Government has designated some forests which are important for public welfare as protection forests.
