Since its inception, the state-run Korea Forest Service has been striving to turn wasteland into forests in the 1970s and to cultivate forestry resources since late 1980s.

The decadeslong state-led efforts appears to be paying off. The copious volume of forests now provides not just environmental benefits but also act as commercial assets and public goods, according to the KFS.

South Korea has 6.3 million hectares of forest, covering 63.2 percent of its land, as of 2015, the fourth-highest ratio among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The figure is more than double that of the world’s average of 31 percent.

The value of the forests in Korea was worth a combined 166 trillion won ($148.1 billion) in 2014, accounting for over 10 percent of the national gross domestic product, according to an estimate by the KFS.

Among them, Korea’s forest products industry, ranging from lumber, herbs, mushrooms and greens to commercial stone production and gardening, created value worth 40 trillion won, as well as some 250,000 jobs.

The forests also yielded intangible benefits, including protecting sources of fresh water on land, preventing landslides, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, and preserving biodiversity, worth a combined 126 trillion won.

The benefits went to tens of millions of people. According to the KFS’ 2016 estimate, some 16.4 million people visited 166 recreation forests, while nine forests designed for people’s meditation welcomed 1.2 million visitors.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)