Roles of Saemaul Undong in Reforestation and NGO Activities for Sustainable Forest Management in Korea

Abstract The forests in Korea cover 6.4 million ha, which is about 65 percent of the total land area. During the Japanese occupation in World War II and the Korean War, forest resources were severely exploited due to illegal cutting and shifting cultivation. A substantial amount of fuelwood was required for heating and cooking in the 1950s and 1960s. Due to the great demand for fuel energy, the Korean Government established 643,000 ha with fast-growing trees such as Pinus rigida, Robinia pseudo-acacia, Alnusspp., and Quercus acutissimafrom 1967 to 1977. Also, the Government initiated the first 10-year Forest Development Plan for Rehabilitation and Restoration in 1973. As a result, the growing stock is 70 m3/ha as of 2002. Successful reforestation of degraded forest areas not only resulted in the massive implementation of forest plans but led to the new community movement called "Saemaul Undong (SU)." Saemaul Undong began in 1970 and can be defined as a systematic movement that promotes the following factors: (1) education to expand latent human ability, (2) the environmental factor, to change the environment to improve ones's living conditions, (3) the social factor, to provide more opportunities for becoming financially self-sufficient, and (4) the creative powers of human beings. During 1997–2001, unemployment in Korea was high due to IMF restructuring. As a way of reducing unemployment, forest tending programs have been applied through Forest for Life (FFL) campaign since 1998. Up to 2001, the programs provided US$400 million to tend 383,000 ha of forest areas, as well as new jobs, which in turn has contributed to sustainable forest management.