Im Sangseop, Head of Korea Forest Service, Highly Praises Jinju as a Leading City in Wooden Architecture

Leading City in Wooden Architecture Through Public Architect System
Impressive Awards and Continuous Benchmarking Follow

Jinju City in Gyeongnam Province is emerging as a leading city for wooden architecture in the field of public buildings. Jinju is taking the lead in addressing the pressing challenge of carbon neutrality, which can no longer be postponed in this era.

On July 23, Mayor Cho Gyu-il met with Lim Sang-seop, Chief of the Korea Forest Service, to request support for Jinju's bid to host the "2025 Korea Garden Expo." During the meeting, Lim praised Jinju's wooden architecture, saying, "Gardens are for Suncheon, returning to farming is for Goesan, and wooden architecture is for Jinju."

Wood is the oldest building material and the most familiar to people. As a construction material, wood is lighter than other materials, making it more flexible to external shocks such as earthquakes, and it is also environmentally friendly.

Joo Kyuil, mayor of Jinju, is giving a presentation at the 17th Forest Workshop.

While construction materials like concrete, steel, and aluminum currently used in buildings emit large amounts of carbon during production, wood has the property of storing carbon. Compared to energy-intensive materials like concrete and steel, buildings made of wood have a significantly lower carbon footprint, making them a highly responsible choice for a sustainable future.

Through the "Public Architect System," Jinju City is constructing various public buildings with wood so that citizens can use them more comfortably and familiarly.

First, Jinju began building community centers for culture, health, and education as wooden structures, providing spaces for a variety of citizen activities. Examples include the "Munsan-eup Eoulmadang," "Jeongchon-myeon Innovation Community Center," and "Myeongseok-myeon Community Cultural Center."

Recently, five senior centers, including the Daebong Senior Center in Sangbong-dong, have been completed as wooden buildings and are in use. The Gyopung and Deulmal Senior Centers in Ibanseong-myeon and Pyeonggeo are currently being designed as wooden structures.

On June 13, 2023, Mayor Cho Gyu-il introduced Jinju City's public wooden architecture at the National Forestry Workshop, attended by over 700 mayors, county governors, and district chiefs, under the theme "Jinju, a City in the Forest, Leading Public Wooden Architecture." This event naturally brought national attention to Jinju as a leading city in wooden architecture among local governments.

In July 2023, Oh Seung-rok, Mayor of Nowon District, and 18 related officials visited Jinju, followed by Park Hyung-deok, Mayor of Dongducheon, and others in October. In 2024, many local governments, including Chungnam Province, Daegu Metropolitan City, and the Wood Culture Promotion Association, visited Jinju to benchmark its wooden architecture.

On July 19, Lee Guksik, President of the Korea Wood Construction Association, and other board members held a meeting at "Jisoo Nammyung Jinchwi-ga" to discuss the development and advancement of wooden architecture and toured Jinju's wooden buildings.

As a result of various efforts to establish itself as Korea's representative city for wooden architecture, the proportion of wooden buildings in Jinju's public construction projects surpassed 40% as of the end of 2023. To gradually increase this ratio, the city plans to appoint additional experts in wooden architecture among its 32 public architects and utilize them when assigning architects to each project.

Additionally, successful cases of wooden architecture, such as the "Gaho-dong Care Flower Shop" and the "Munsan-eup Community Eoulmadang," have been realized through business agreements with the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology and Canada Wood. The city also plans to expand technical cooperation with organizations related to wooden architecture, such as the Korea Wood Construction Association.

In October 2024, Jinju will host the "3rd Jinju Architecture Culture Festival" and a wooden architecture seminar, aiming to raise public awareness that "eco-friendly architecture is not a choice but a necessity for the future." As a "leading city in wooden architecture," Jinju promises to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, responding to climate change, and building a sustainable future.