The Korea Forest Service (Director Choi Byung-am) will designate forest roads that require systematic management due to their high symbolism and representation as national forest roads from May 1 after deliberation by the Forest Welfare Review Committee.
The term 'forest road' means a road outside a forest connected to a road created in a forest for hiking, trekking, leisure sports, exploration, recreation, healing, etc.
※ Type of forest path: hiking trails, trekking paths (walking: Dulle-gil, trail), forest leisure paths, trails, recreation, and healing forest paths
The forest roads, which were designated as national forest roads for the first time, are four forest roads: Jirisan Dulle-gil, Baekdudaegan Trail, DMZ Punch Bowl Dulle-gil, and Daegwallyeong Forest Road.
Jirisan Dulle-gil is a 289km-long Dulle-gil road centered on Jirisan Mountain in Jeollabuk-do (Namwon-si), Jeollanam-do (Gurye-gun), and Gyeongsangnam-do (Sancheong, Hamyang, and Hadong-gun). You can enjoy the beautiful forest scenery and village atmosphere at the foot of Jirisan Mountain.
Baekdudaegan Trail is a 206km forest trail in Inje, Hongcheon, Pyeongchang, Yanggu, and Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, and has beautiful forest scenery such as Bangtaesan, Daeamsan, and Jumbongsan.
DMZ Punch Bowl Dulle-gil is a 73 km-long Dulle-gil located in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do. You can feel the forest scenery surrounded by mountains more than 1,000 meters high, the Korean War, and the reality of the division of the two Koreas.
※ Punch Bowl is named after an anecdote that during the Korean War, the beautiful scenery of the sunset basin seen by an American war reporter from Gachilbong was like a cocktail in a glass and the shape of the coastal basin looked like a fruit salad bowl.
Daegwallyeong Forest Road is a 103km forest road located in Daegwallyeong, the gateway to Yeongdong and Yeongseo, Gangwon Province, and is rich in attractions and experiences such as Geumgang Pine Forest, Sheep Ranch, Winter Olympics venue, Daegwallyeong Natural Recreation Forest, and Healing Forest.
Forest roads designated as national forest roads will be systematically managed by setting up operating and management guidelines by a standardized quality system to harmonize preservation and use of forest ecosystems.
The Korea Forest Service plans to first implement forest road projects such as the National Forest Road Information Center, Forest Road Climbing Instructor, and Maintenance, and also promote projects to develop and operate forest road experience programs.
In the future, the National Forest Road will be designated annually after receiving applications from the Forest Road Management Office (local forest commissioner, head of local governments) for the designation of forest roads with high quality and operation and management systems.
The National Forest Road Designation System was introduced (Enforcement: 20.6.4) by amending the Forest Culture and Recreation Act to prevent damage to forest roads due to the increase in the hiking population and to provide higher quality hiking services.
The National Forest Road will be designated and announced by the Korea Forest Service after deliberation by the Forest Welfare Review Committee on forest roads that require systematic operation and management due to their high forest ecological or historical and cultural value.
The United States already introduced the National Trail System Act in 1968 and has 120,000km of national trails on 1,353 routes, including National Landscape Trail, National History Trail, and National Recreation Trail. Appalachian Trail (about 3500 km) and Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) (about 4300 km) are representative national trails.
Lee Sang-ik, director of the Forest Welfare Bureau of the Korea Forest Service, said, "As the spread of Covid-19 infectious diseases increases, the public's interest in forest roads is growing. To provide high-quality forest road services, we plan to expand the designation of national forest roads and systematically operate and manage them."
