Jongno-gu to Plant 80,000 Trees by This Month and 220,000 by Year-End... Full-Scale Effort to Reduce Fine Dust

As part of the 'Pureun City Jongno Making Project,' 80,000 trees are being planted by the end of this month... aiming to plant 220,000 trees this year... Enjoying benefits such as fine dust and carbon reduction, urban heat island mitigation, and providing a pleasant living environment through tree planting

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Jongno-gu (District Mayor Kim Young-jong) is striving to provide residents with a pleasant living environment through “tree planting,” recognized as a sustainable and eco-friendly measure to reduce fine dust.

To this end, as part of the “Making Jongno a Green City” project, 80,000 trees are being planted by the end of this month to welcome spring. Preparations began early this spring, and trees are being planted intensively in March and April, the optimal period for planting, with a plan to plant a total of 220,000 trees throughout the year.

The “Making Jongno a Green City” project, which Jongno-gu has been actively promoting since last year, implements ten detailed projects across both public and private sectors, aiming to plant one million trees throughout the region by 2024. Last year, by actively discovering traffic islands and leftover spaces, approximately 288,000 trees were planted, far exceeding the initial goal of 90,000 trees.

In addition to planting one million trees, the “Garden City Jongno Project” will be implemented in the first half of this year to plant and cultivate flowers and trees in leftover spaces within the city.

During the first half of this year, 15 traffic island green spaces and 31 leftover green spaces will be created, transforming previously unused areas into spaces filled with trees and flowers.

Reducing fine dust through tree planting has the advantage of continuously lowering fine dust levels without additional energy or budget during the tree growth period.

Moreover, it is noteworthy that there are excellent secondary effects such as improving green coverage, reducing carbon emissions, and mitigating the urban heat island effect, thereby enhancing the urban environment.

Jongno-gu recognized early the risks posed by fine dust and has been proactively implementing policies to create a sustainable city that protects residents’ health, considering the characteristics of major office facilities and areas with heavy traffic. Examples include strengthening road water cleaning, rooftop cleaning of buildings, organizing air pollution sources, and conducting campaigns to reduce fine dust.

District Mayor Kim Young-jong stated, “We will not stop our efforts to expand green spaces throughout the region, focusing on residents’ health and happiness, to create a clean area where it is easy to breathe.”