New Public Natural Recreation Forests Established in Boryeong and Seocheon, Chungnam

A bird's-eye view of Boryeong Wonsando Natural Recreation Forest. Provided by Chungnam Province

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is newly establishing public natural recreation forests in Boryeong and Seocheon.

On the 21st, the province announced that it will newly establish two natural recreation forests: Wonsando Natural Recreation Forest in Boryeong and Janghang Songnim Natural Recreation Forest in Seocheon.

Following recent approval of the establishment plan for Wonsando Natural Recreation Forest in Boryeong, construction will begin in June and be completed by July next year, after which it will be fully operational.

The province plans to develop this recreation forest in the Wonsando-ri area of Ocheon-myeon, Boryeong City, providing users with a combined forest and marine forest recreation service.

The Songnim Natural Recreation Forest in Seocheon is currently undergoing detailed design for new establishment, with design and related legal consultations to be completed this year before construction begins.

Along with the new natural recreation forests, the province will also carry out maintenance of existing recreation forest facilities. Maintenance will cover 11 local recreation forests including Anmyeondo Natural Recreation Forest, prioritizing the replacement and repair of outdated facilities, refurbishing forest houses, and supplementing facilities to expand access for socially vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities.

Currently, the province also prioritizes some public natural recreation forest rooms for socially vulnerable groups. Unlike general reservations, these priority rooms operate under a separate reservation period and can be used by inquiring directly with the respective recreation forest.

The province plans to invest a total budget of 12.3 billion KRW for the new establishment and refurbishment of natural recreation forests.

Lee Sang-chun, Director of the Provincial Forest Resources Division, stated, “In response to the demand for forest recreation, we will newly establish natural recreation forests while refurbishing existing facilities so that visitors can receive high-quality forest welfare services. We will strive to ensure that this project provides tangible forest benefits to local residents exhausted by COVID-19.”