An Overview of Forest Management in the Republic of Korea

By the 1950s, Korean forests had become very devastated after the Korean War. Since then, the forest area and the growing stock have recovered in remarkable speed. Through various forest restoration policies, now 63% of Korea is covered with forests, which amounts to 6.335 million ha. Currently, the growing stock of Korean forests is showing an increase every year. On the contrary, forest area is decreasing because of the so called »Forest Land Conversion« project. Due to the project, forests have been converted for other purposes such as new roads, housing construction, industrial complexes, etc. In 2015 the growing stock was 924.81 million m3, higher by 15.6% than in 2010. This is a 12.4-fold increase from 1973, when the »Erosion Control and Greening Project« began. The main conifer species in Korea are red pine (Pinus densiflora Siebold & Zucc.), Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis Siebold & Zucc.), Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi Lamb.), Pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) and Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa Siebold & Zucc., Endl.) and Oak species (Quercus spp.), Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata Siebold & Zucc.), Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) and Birch (Betula spp.). The percentage of forestry vehicles such as harvesters, tower yarders and processors is remarkably low in South Korea. Short-wood logging method with a chain saw for felling and bucking the trees and excavators equipped with grapples for timber extraction are the most widely used harvesting system in South Korea. The current density of Korean forest roads is only 3.32%