Seosan City Breaks Ground on Gayasan Natural Recreation Forest Project... Completion Scheduled for 2027

Arboretum and Healing Forest to Be Created with 30.1 Billion Won Investment

On the 18th, Seosan City in Chungnam held a groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Gayasan Natural Recreation Forest,' the first phase of creating a forest welfare complex, at the foot of Gayasan in Sinchang-ri, Unsan-myeon. About 150 people, including Mayor Lee Wanseop, heads of organizations and groups, and local residents, attended the event. The photo shows the key attendees breaking ground. Photo by Seosan City

Seosan City in South Chungcheong Province has announced plans to create a "forest welfare space for all life stages" on Gayasan Mountain in the Sinchang-ri area of Unsan-myeon, including a natural recreation forest development project.

On the 18th, the city held a groundbreaking ceremony for the "Gayasan Natural Recreation Forest," the first stage in the creation of the welfare complex, at the foot of Gayasan Mountain. The event was attended by Mayor Lee Wan-seop, Council Chair Cho Dong-sik, heads of local organizations and institutions, and about 150 local residents.

During an on-site briefing, Mayor Lee Wan-seop presented the blueprint for the "Seosan Gayasan Forest Welfare Complex," which will be established in the Sinchang-ri area of Unsan-myeon with a total project cost of 30.1 billion KRW.

The tentatively named Gayasan Forest Welfare Complex project includes the newly launched Gayasan Natural Recreation Forest, an arboretum, and a healing forest, all designed to provide forest welfare spaces for citizens and visitors.

In particular, the complex will offer themed forest spaces tailored to each stage of life, such as a prenatal forest, children's forest, youth forest, recreational forest, healing forest, and memorial forest?all within one area.

The first phase, the Gayasan Natural Recreation Forest, will be completed by 2026 and will feature a comprehensive management center, forest recreation hall, forest cabins, a forest cafe, and meeting rooms, among other recreational facilities.

Aerial view of Seosan Gayasan Natural Recreation Forest. / Seosan City

Once the basic infrastructure is in place, the second phase will sequentially add a forest camping site, children's forest experience center, forest leisure sports complex, and forest education center.

The Gayasan Arboretum is currently in the detailed design stage and will include a tree management center, nursery, and greenhouse. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2025 and be completed by 2027.

The Healing Forest will feature a healing center, healing forest trails, and a forest air bath area. Detailed design will begin in 2025, with completion planned for 2027.

The city expects that once the tentatively named Gayasan Forest Welfare Complex is completed, it will attract approximately 134,000 visitors annually, generate an economic impact of 78.9 billion KRW for the local economy, and create 417 jobs.

Mayor Lee Wan-seop stated, "The Gayasan Forest Welfare Complex, which I first initiated in 2016 during my second term as mayor under the name 'Gayasan Life Cycle Forest Recreation Complex,' has now taken its first step." He added, "Gayasan will become a leading tourism resource for the city, where citizens and people from across the country can enjoy and relax."

He further emphasized, "Through this project, we will provide a space to comprehensively enjoy forest culture, recreation, and experiences, and we will actively attract tourists."