Gyeongsang National University Department of Landscape Architecture Begins Efforts to Green Jinju Bibongsan

Sowing 1,500 Tea Tree Seeds and 500 Thorn Tree Seeds on Bibongsan Mountain

Students from the Department of Landscape Architecture at Gyeongsang National University are engaged in activities to cultivate Bibongsan.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] The Department of Landscape Architecture at Gyeongsang National University, together with the Green Jinju Citizens' Committee, sowed 1,500 tea trees and 500 thorny shrubs on Bibongsan Mountain in Jinju.

Bibongsan Mountain is the symbolic main mountain of Jinju, but since deciduous trees dominate, it has been criticized for being monotonous and barren from November to March of the following year.

The Bibongsan Mountain cultivation project dates back to 1997. Centered around the Gyeongnam Provincial Forestry Experiment Station (now Gyeongnam Provincial Forest Environment Research Institute) and Professor Kang Ho-cheol of the Department of Landscape Architecture, students sowed evergreen trees on Bibongsan for experimental and practical purposes.

Since then, support from Jinju City, Gyeongnam Union Newspaper, and the Gyeongnam Environmental Education Association has continued, raising awareness in the region. Since 2017, Professor Kang Ho-cheol and the Green Jinju Citizens' Committee have jointly carried out the annual tree-planting event and the campaign "Make Bibongsan Green, Make Jinju Green."

The Department of Landscape Architecture has been leading efforts for over ten years to cultivate the Namgang River into a healthy green area by planting black poplars and poplars along the riverbank during Arbor Day events, and is taking the lead in greening Bibongsan Mountain.

Professor Kang Ho-cheol said, "Namgang River and Bibongsan are symbols and treasures of Jinju. We need to develop this into a campaign involving Jinju City and its citizens to create a Bibongsan that is green throughout all four seasons." He added, "Although the effects of this sowing may not be immediate, in 20 to 30 years, we will be able to see a green Bibongsan even in winter."

He also emphasized the importance of forests, saying, "The greatest person in the world is the one who plants trees every day. The most beautiful person is the one who thinks about and loves trees every day. The wisest person is the one who communicates with trees every day, and the happiest person is the one who takes a walk in the forest every day."