Korea Forest Service Selects 6 Outstanding School Forests Including Daegu's 'Hwanggeumcho'

The Korea Forest Service announced on the 14th that it has selected six outstanding school forests this year. Outstanding school forests are created to establish nature-friendly spaces within schools, enhancing the ecological sensitivity of children and youth and providing high-quality forest education.

The outstanding school forests were chosen through a competition. The Korea Forest Service selected four schools in the creation category and two schools in the utilization and aftercare category as outstanding school forests after a first round of document screening and a second round of expert on-site evaluation.

Jeonnam Damyang Hanjae Elementary School received an Excellence Award in the "School Forest Utilization and Post-Management" category from the Korea Forest Service. The school increases the utilization of the school forest by opening it not only to students but also to the local community. Photo by Korea Forest Service

In the creation category, Hwanggeum Elementary School located in Suseong-gu, Daegu, where students participated in the design and directly planted trees and flowers, won the grand prize.

The excellence award went to Hwahoong Elementary School in Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, and the encouragement awards were given to Pyeongchang Elementary School in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do, and Inhwa Girls' Middle School in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, respectively.

The grand prize in the utilization and aftercare category was awarded to Namuwa Middle School in Yeongcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. This school was highly evaluated for its high utilization, hosting events such as concerts and outdoor weddings with local residents in the school forest.

The excellence award went to Hanjae Elementary School in Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do.

Geum Si-hoon, Director of the Urban Forest Landscape Division at the Korea Forest Service, said, “School forests are more than just green spaces; they are a kind of green classroom that enhances the ecological sensitivity of children and youth and enables creative experiential activities. The Korea Forest Service will discover and share various outstanding school forest cases nationwide to spread a shared green cultural space enjoyed by schools and local communities together.”