"Now Not Accepted at Senior Centers Either"... Seoul City Replacing Street Trees with Hundreds of Millions Spent

"Smells Bad" Citizens' Complaints
Fruit Disposal and Male Tree Replacement Work

Every autumn, the foul smell from ginkgo tree fruits causes headaches for the Seoul city government. A lot of budget and time are spent on fruit disposal and replacing male trees.

On the 13th, the sidewalk on Jeongdong-gil in Jung-gu, Seoul, was stained with marks from ginkgo nuts fallen from the ginkgo trees. Citizens are walking while avoiding the nuts remaining on the street.
[Photo by Shim Seong-a]

On the 14th, Seoul city formed a ginkgo fruit harvesting task force and plans to harvest the fruits early from 25,127 ginkgo trees by the end of this month. Additionally, they operate an immediate collection and disposal service for ginkgo fruits to promptly address citizen complaints. Seongbuk-gu in Seoul will replace 221 ginkgo trees this year with a budget of 300 million won. Gangbuk-gu in Seoul replaced all 1,060 female trees with male trees three years ago.

Disposing of ginkgo fruits is also a headache. Seoul city has donated the harvested fruits annually to senior centers and social welfare facilities, but this year, no one accepted the donations, so all the fruits must be discarded. A Seoul city official said, “Even though we confirmed through professional institutions that the fruits are safe, because the trees are located along roadsides, there is concern that the fruits might be contaminated with heavy metals, so people are reluctant to accept them,” adding, “To donate the fruits, each shell must be peeled one by one, which is not an easy process.”

Citizens express strong complaints about the fallen ginkgo fruits. Mr. Han (56) said, “Every autumn, smelling the unpleasant odor of ginkgo fruits is a torment. The stench is so strong nearby that it makes you frown,” and criticized, “We have to struggle hard to avoid the fruits lying on the ground, which is inconvenient.” Ms. Lee (27) pointed out, “When I step on ginkgo fruits while walking, I worry that my body will smell and feel quite uncomfortable.”