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Südkoreas Wiederaufforstung ist ein Beleg für die Macht strukturierter Planung und adaptiven Managements. Dieser Artikel geht auf die erfolgreiche Umwandlung zerstörter Landschaften in blühende Ökosysteme ein und analysiert anhand des RPDCA-Rahmenwerks die wichtigsten Phasen des Prozesses. Die Studie unterstreicht die Bedeutung evidenzbasierter Planung, rigoroser Umsetzung und systematischer Überwachung für die Erreichung einer umfassenden ökologischen Erholung. Sie untersucht auch die Rolle von Governance und politischer Dynamik bei der Ermöglichung erfolgreicher Aufforstung und bietet wertvolle Erkenntnisse für andere Länder, die ähnliche Ziele verfolgen. Der Artikel schließt mit einer Diskussion über die umfassenderen Auswirkungen der südkoreanischen Erfahrungen auf die globalen Bemühungen zur Wiederherstellung der Wälder, wobei die Notwendigkeit einer iterativen Bewertung und evidenzbasierter politischer Weiterentwicklung betont wird.
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Diese Zusammenfassung des Fachinhalts wurde mit Hilfe von KI generiert.
Abstract
South Korea’s forest restoration efforts are globally recognized as a leading example of successful reforestation, transforming barren landscapes into thriving ecosystems. While comprehensive national plans and strong administrative capacities have been key contributors, the country’s ability to overcome repeated reforestation failures offers a critical insight for countries pursuing large-scale forest restoration. This study reinterprets South Korea’s forest restoration achievements through the lens of a revised PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) framework, referred to here as RPDCA, which integrates research-driven planning and adaptive management, using textual analysis of more than 9000 archival records and national forestry statistics covering 1953–2020 related to Korea’s reforestation efforts. The RPDCA framework emphasizes the importance of pre-reforestation research (Research), evidence-based planning (Plan), rigorous implementation supported by strong administration and community participation (Do), multi-level monitoring and evaluation (Check), and iterative improvements including field-based policy adjustments and institutional enhancements (Act). By linking each stage of the RPDCA framework to quantitative indicators such as degraded area, planted hectares, achievement rates, and survival rates, the analysis clarifies how Korea’s restoration strategy evolved over time, explains why earlier failures were eventually overcome, and distills practical, stage-specific lessons for countries facing similar ecological and policy challenges. The findings underscore the importance of integrating scientific research, continuous feedback, and stakeholder participation to break the cycle of reforestation failures and achieve sustainable forest management. At the same time, the Korean case demonstrates that while structured and research-driven approaches can deliver large-scale restoration success, their applicability elsewhere depends on careful adaptation to different social, institutional, and ecological contexts.
Introduction
Amid intensifying climate risks and growing recognition of forests as critical carbon sinks and sources of ecosystem resilience, countries around the world are accelerating efforts to restore degraded landscapes. As interest in large-scale forest restoration gains momentum, national examples that demonstrate both ecological recovery and institutional effectiveness are in high demand. South Korea is widely recognized as one such case, having transformed its devastated forest landscapes into healthy, functioning ecosystems within the span of a few decades.
Following the compounded destruction of Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War, South Korea entered the mid-20th century with some of the most depleted forests in the world. By 1952, the national growing stock volume had dropped to just 5.6 m³ per hectare, far below the threshold needed to meet even basic demands for fuelwood and timber (Bae 2009). The degradation was not only physical but systemic, shaped by poverty, shifting cultivation, and unsustainable biomass use.
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Recognizing the urgency of the crisis, the Korean government made forest recovery a national imperative, launching the First 10-Year Forest Rehabilitation Plan in 1973 and initiating a centrally coordinated afforestation campaign. Through large-scale planting, civic engagement, and intensive post-planting care, forest cover and quality steadily improved. By 2020, the national growing stock volume had reached 165.2 m³ per hectare, marking a more than 29-fold increase (Bae et al. 2022).
Korea’s achievement has since drawn considerable international recognition, with organizations such as the FAO and UNEP citing it as a rare and instructive example of successful national-scale reforestation (Brown 2006; Chun and Choi 2010). In 2025, UNESCO formally inscribed Korea’s forest restoration records into the Memory of the World Register, underscoring their historical and global significance. The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) has promoted Korea as a model for reforestation in the Asia-Pacific region, noting that “the success of Korea’s reforestation programs has gained worldwide recognition”. Furthermore, Bae et al. (2022) emphasize that understanding Korea’s forest transition offers practical guidance for other countries recovering from deforestation under conditions of limited capacity and institutional fragility. These historical achievements highlight not only Korea’s ecological recovery but also the country’s unique governance and policy dynamics that enabled large-scale reforestation. However, the extent to which these lessons are transferable remains underexplored, particularly under different socio-political and ecological contexts.
Countries such as Mongolia, the Philippines, and Ethiopia are now advancing restoration initiatives of their own, often looking to Korea for guidance (Goltiano et al. 2021; Enkhbold and Matsui 2022; Mohammed et al. 2023). Still, replication remains elusive. Many efforts stall not from lack of ambition, but from difficulties in translating plans into effective and adaptive action.
In this regard, Korea’s experience can also be interpreted within broader global frameworks such as Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) (Lamb et al. 2012; Mansourian et al. 2021), the Bonn Challenge (Stanturf et al. 2019), and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (ITTO 2020; UNEP and FAO 2020). Moreover, the trajectory of Korea’s recovery aligns with forest transition theory (de Jong et al. 2021), highlighting the interplay between socioeconomic transformation and ecological recovery. Comparative studies (Andoh and Lee 2018; Chisika and Yeom 2025) have examined how elements of Korea’s experience resonate in countries such as Ghana and Kenya, underscoring both transferable lessons and contextual limitations.
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This study addresses a persistent challenge in large-scale restoration: the repeated failure to translate high-level strategies into long-term, adaptive outcomes. It reexamines Korea’s reforestation trajectory using the RPDCA (Research–Plan–Do–Check–Act) framework, a revision of the widely used PDCA model. By incorporating an explicit Research stage, the RPDCA lens emphasizes empirical diagnosis and field-informed learning across the full policy cycle.
Through this lens, the study analyzes how Korea’s restoration strategy evolved across five interrelated stages, highlighting institutional reforms, community participation, and evidence-based adaptation. The findings aim to generate stage-specific insights and clarify the contextual boundaries of Korea’s experience, ultimately contributing to more resilient restoration strategies in other settings.
Methodology
Conceptual framework: RPDCA approach
The PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle is a widely adopted management tool used across industries to support systematic problem-solving and continuous improvement (Gartner and Naughton 1988; Madu and Kuei 1993). It involves four iterative stages: strategic planning (Plan), implementation (Do), performance evaluation (Check), and corrective action (Act). Its adaptability has enabled its application in various domains such as manufacturing, quality control, environmental governance, and public policy.
Empirical studies have validated the effectiveness of the PDCA framework across diverse contexts. In the industrial sector, Realyvásquez-Vargas et al. (2018) reported a significant reduction in defect rates using PDCA model, while Ferreira et al. (2023) applied it to resolve operational inefficiencies in a Brazilian sawmill. In policy contexts, Son et al. (2013) demonstrated the model’s utility in rural development projects in South Korea, and Kim and Lim (2021) integrated PDCA into GHG-reduction strategies. Trippner-Hrabi et al. (2024) found that applying the PDCA cycle improved the achievement of performance goals in public utility services during the transition to remote work.
This study applied a revised PDCA cycle, reflecting the significant role that preliminary investigation and research played in the success of Korea’s national reforestation. The PDCA cycle was expanded into the RPDCA model by explicitly incorporating “Research” as the initial stage. The “Research” stage involves assessing baseline conditions, reviewing relevant data and cases, and gathering evidence to inform strategic planning. This enhancement is particularly crucial in the context of reforestation, where evidence-based diagnosis is essential for formulating effective and adaptive policy interventions. Accordingly, this study adopted the RPDCA framework as an analytical tool to examine the trajectory of Korea’s national reforestation strategy.
Review of South Korea’s reforestation through RPDCA framework
South Korea’s reforestation success is often framed within the timeline of the First 10-Year Forest Rehabilitation Plan (1973–1982) and the Second 10-Year Plan (1979–1988). However, as highlighted by Park et al. (2017), the groundwork laid prior to 1973—such as the contributions of forestry experts during the 1960s and the establishment of the Korea Forest Service (KFS) in 1967—played a critical role in enabling these achievements. Furthermore, efforts to maintain and nurture the restored forests continued even after the First and Second Plans.
Accordingly, this study expands the temporal scope of analysis to cover the period from the 1950s through the 2000s, thereby offering a more comprehensive understanding of policies and activities implemented both before and after the official forest rehabilitation plans. The analysis is primarily based on 9619 archival records related to Korea’s reforestation efforts, which have been inscribed as UNESCO Memory of the World. These records include a wide range of materials—including official documents, work logs, photographs, and posters—produced and maintained by central and local governments, as well as individuals, with the common objective of advancing reforestation. The materials cover diverse aspects of forest restoration, including nursery management, afforestation practices, forest management plans, erosion control, and other related activities (Table 1).
Table 1
Categorization of Korea reforestation archives
Category
Key topics
Number of materials
Nursery
Policy, budgets, seeds, inspections, village nurseries
Forest surveys, aerial photography, planning, laws, regulations, and logging
531
Forest protection
Pest control, forest fire prevention, and monitoring of violations
801
Erosion control and Forest road
Long-term plans, construction, design, and post-management of forest roads
2385
Shifting cultivation
Status surveys, resettlement plans, and post-management
497
Fuelwood forests
IBRD loans, creation and management, improved forest patches
410
Research and Experiment
Afforestation, silviculture, surveys, wood utilization, and tree breeding
533
Education and event
Job training, overseas training, and public awareness campaigns
577
International cooperation
Global partnerships, overseas afforestation, technical exchanges, and forest product policies
1575
Total
9619
From this dataset, records produced between the 1950s and 2000s were selected for analysis. The study further divides the timeline into three distinct periods: the pre-reforestation era (1950s–1960s), the implementation phase (1970s–1980s), and the post-reforestation period (1990s–2000s). Using a textual analysis approach, each record was categorized according to the RPDCA framework, which includes the following stages: Research (R), Plan (P), Do (D), Check (C), and Act (A). Keywords associated with each stage were used to guide classification, as summarized in Table 2. In cases where records contained overlapping terms, classification was adjusted based on a consistent set of rules. For example, documents including the term “Plan modification” were classified under “Act,” while materials titled “Research report” were assigned to the “Research” category. Records not directly related to domestic reforestation activities, such as overseas business trips or participation in international events, were categorized as “Other” and excluded from the analysis.
Table 2
Text mining keywords applied to RPDCA categorization of archival records
The English keywords are listed for clarity and reference; classification in the actual analysis was based on Korean keywords
Through this method, the study interprets South Korea’s forest rehabilitation process through the lens of the RPDCA framework. This approach reveals how the country’s reforestation strategy evolved over time and provides insights into the role of structured planning, implementation, and adaptive management in achieving large-scale ecological recovery.
This review focused on archival records documenting domestic forest restoration activities in South Korea. Only materials directly related to planning, implementation, or monitoring were included, while documents primarily concerning international cooperation or overseas training were excluded. Although the dataset is extensive, the analysis is limited by gaps in institutional records for certain policy decisions and the absence of complementary sources such as interviews or field observations.
The RPDCA framework usefully highlights the pivotal role of research and feedback in Korea’s restoration. At the same time, it shares similarities with existing models such as project cycle management (European Commission 2004; Battisti 2017) and adaptive management (Allen et al. 2011; Williams 2011). The distinct contribution of RPDCA lies less in offering a universally superior framework than in contextualizing how iterative, research-driven adjustments enabled a top-down national program to overcome repeated failures. This nuance helps clarify the relevance of Korea’s case for countries navigating between centralized planning and participatory FLR approaches.
Results and discussion
South Korea’s reforestation interpreted through RPDCA framework
This study applies the RPDCA framework to examine South Korea’s reforestation process based on historical documents. The application of the RPDCA framework reveals that South Korea’s success was not linear but iterative. The textual analysis of the 9,619 records indicates a heavy emphasis on Planning (32%) and Implementation (25%), but uniquely, a consistent and robust focus on Checking (24%) and Research (17%) that is often absent in failed restoration projects.
To understand the efficacy of these administrative efforts, it is necessary to first establish the quantitative baseline of forest recovery. Table 3 presents the evolution of forest resources from the post-war nadir to the present day. These statistics serve as the ultimate validation of the RPDCA cycle’s effectiveness.
Table 3
Evolution of forest resources in South Korea (1953–2020)
The data in Table 3 illustrates three distinct phases. The period from 1953 to 1973 shows slow recovery (from 5.66 to 11.31 m³/ha), reflecting the “trial and error” period where administrative capacity was low. The period from 1973 to 1987 shows rapid acceleration, with stock volume nearly tripling (11.31 to 30.90 m³/ha) during the First and Second National Plans. Finally, the post-1987 period shows exponential growth in volume (reaching 165.20 m³/ha) as the established forests matured, demonstrating the long-term viability of the restoration.
From the total dataset of 9619 reforestation-related archival records, 9471 were identified as produced between the 1950s and the 2000s. Among these, 5695 records were categorized into the RPDCA cycle through keyword-based content analysis. An overview of Korea’s reforestation efforts under the RPDCA cycle is presented in Fig. 1, while the distribution of categorized records is summarized in Table 4.
Fig. 1
Five key stages of South Korea’s reforestation efforts, viewed through the lens of the RPDCA framework
Distribution of records classified by RPDCA framework and time period
Phase
Research
Plan
Do
Check
Act
Total
Pre-reforestation, 1950s–1960s
189
295
298
213
21
1016
Implementation, 1970s–1980s
528
944
789
932
59
3252
Post-reforestation, 1990s–2000s
233
607
314
243
30
1427
Total (Ratio)
950 (17%)
1846 (32%)
1401 (25%)
1388 (24%)
110 (2%)
5695 (100%)
Chronologically, the highest volume of records was produced during the implementation period. In terms of the RPDCA stages, the most frequently represented category was Plan, followed by Do, Check, Research, and Act. Overall, the Plan and Do stages made up the majority of documentation, while the Act stage consistently accounted for only 2% of the records throughout the entire period.
Research: establishing the empirical baseline
Approximately 16% to 19% of records across all periods were classified under the Research stage, highlighting its consistently foundational role. Forest research in Korea began in earnest with the establishment of the Central Forestry Research Institute in 1949, laying the groundwork for systematic scientific investigation in the forestry sector (Lee 2013). However, legacy of colonial exploitation and severe forest degradation following the Korean War limited early research activities.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, national assessments reported that over 4 million hectares, nearly 58% of Korea’s forest land, were classified as degraded or “bare mountain,” and the average forest stock volume stood at just 5.66 m³ per hectare in 1953 (Bae 2009). These findings prompted calls for immediate restoration planning and underscored the need for a more rigorous empirical baseline.
This foundational research stage was not simply a support to planning, but rather an empirically grounded diagnostic stage that identified the scale and spatial distribution of degradation and informed subsequent national policy. For this reason, we conceptualize Research as a distinct yet integrated component of the RPDCA framework, reflecting the institutionalized role of evidence in shaping reforestation strategy.
More comprehensive efforts emerged in the 1960s. Before this, the most recent forest statistics had been published in 1944 under Japanese rule. In response to the need for updated data, the government enacted the National Forest Survey Regulation in 1960, and conducted nationwide surveys of national forests (1960–1963) and private forests (1962–1964), adopting sample-based methodologies (Lee et al. 2013).
With FAO collaboration, the Korea Forest Research Project Agency was established in 1964 to coordinate aerial and ground surveys. These efforts culminated in the First National Forest Survey (1972), which produced the country’s first unified timber volume tables and nationwide forest status maps (Park et al. 2017). This Research stage was critical for diagnosing the scale of degradation and for setting the quantitative target of reforesting 1 million hectares in the subsequent national plan. The identification of specific document titles, such as the Survey Report on Shifting Cultivators (1974), further illustrates how targeted data collection on drivers of degradation directly fed into policy design.
In parallel, research on nursery management, afforestation techniques, and tree breeding was actively pursued, as evidenced by records such as correspondence requesting cooperation for equipment, research information, and administrative support. Notably, a significant number of documents related to tree breeding research were produced throughout both the pre-reforestation and implementation periods. Additional records document field trials and survival rate surveys of planted areas, implying the depth of empirical research that informed subsequent planning and implementation.
Plan: evidence-based target setting
Planning-related records comprised 32.4% of the total and were the most prevalent across all time periods. The enactment of forestry-related laws and the establishment of plans led by the government played an important role in Korea’s forest rehabilitation.
Following the 1961 military coup, President Park Chung-Hee prioritized forest management, beginning with the enactment of South Korea’s first Forestry Act in December of that year (Bae and Yi 2019) (Fig. 2a). Complementary legislation, including the Erosion Control Work Act, Hunting Act, and Forest Protection Ordinance, was introduced in early 1962, reflecting the government’s strong commitment to forest restoration (Youn et al. 2021). This commitment culminated in the establishment of the KFS as an independent agency in 1967, signifying a shift toward more comprehensive and systematic forest governance.
Fig. 2
(a) South Korea’s first forestry act and (b) first 10-year forest rehabilitation plan (National Archives of Korea 2024)
Building on this legal foundation and the empirical baseline provided by the 1972 National Forest Survey, the pivotal moment was the formulation of the First 10-Year Forest Rehabilitation Plan (1973–1982). Based on survey data, the plan set verifiable numeric targets: reforest 1 million hectares of degraded land, produce and plant approximately 2.1 billion seedlings, and allocate 70% of the planting area to fast-growing species for fuel and erosion control and 30% to commercial species for timber production (Bae and Yi 2019). Specific targets also included erosion control on 84,000 ha of vulnerable slopes and tending on 3.8 million ha of existing forests.
To break away from the stagnation of earlier reforestation efforts, the government launched a transformative approach by formulating the First 10-Year Forest Rehabilitation Plan (1973–1982) (Fig. 2b). This plan shifted the policy focus from merely afforesting the land to emphasizing both reforestation and forest protection. Initially referred to as a national reforestation plan, the term was later refined to “forest rehabilitation,” reflecting a more concrete and systematic objective.
Based on national surveys and research findings, key planting species such as black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), pitch pine (Pinus rigida), and poplar (Populus spp.) were selected for their rapid growth and resilience. Strategic site matching based on slope, soil type, and aspect was mandated in internal KFS guidelines.
Concrete implementation strategies were developed based on existing forest surveys and research. These included the selection of reforestation sites, establishment of short-term targets, planting pioneer species such as black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), pitch pine (Pinus rigida), and poplar (Populus spp.), as well as the initiation of erosion control projects.
To address the issue of neglect after planting—a key cause of previous failures—measures were introduced to actively involve local residents in all stages of the process, from nursery management and planting to post-planting care. This approach was pivotal in establishing a community-based model for forest restoration.
In addition, social and institutional measures, such as settlement policies for slash-and-burn farmers, were implemented to address the root causes of forest degradation. Taken together, the plan was not merely aspirational; it functioned as a calculated engineering blueprint derived from Research-stage data. The transfer of the Korea Forest Service to the Ministry of Interior in 1973 further solidified the administrative power and local government coordination needed to execute these evidence-based targets within the RPDCA framework (Gartner and Naughton 1988).
Do: massive mobilization and execution
Effective implementation was critical to translating plans into results. A key factor in ensuring the success of South Korea’s forest rehabilitation was administrative realignment that transferred the KFS from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Interior (Lee et al. 2012) (Fig. 3). This shift enhanced administrative control and allowed for coordinated oversight of reforestation activities, including the prevention of illegal logging and leaf harvesting, primarily through the forest police.
Fig. 3
Public tree planting led by the ministry of interior. The banner says “Ministry of Interior” (Korea Forest Service 2017)
Scientific approaches were also employed to increase the survival rate of planted trees. Techniques such as soil analysis and site-specific tree selection ensured that appropriate tree species were matched to suitable planting sites. Pioneer species, known for their resilience to temperature fluctuations and poor soil conditions, were strategically planted to stabilize degraded lands and support ecological recovery.
To address the shortage of nursery seedlings, village nurseries played a crucial role. Operated by local residents, these nurseries provided seedlings for reforestation in exchange for food supplies such as flour or financial compensation. This initiative gained significant support, particularly during economically difficult times (Kim 2003). Additionally, post-planting care, such as weeding and pruning, was emphasized to ensure the survival of young trees.
Table 5 The scale of implementation was remarkable. During the First 10-year Forest Rehabilitation Plan (1973–1978), a total of 1.08 million hectares was planted, exceeding the planned 1 million hectares. Areas allocated to long-term species, fast-growing species, and fuelwood forests reached 184, 120, and 101 percent of their respective targets, while fruit and nut trees still achieved about half of the ambitious plan. Seedling production also surpassed expectations, with 3.05 billion seedlings produced compared with the planned 2.13 billion (Kim and Kim 2013). These outcome-based indicators, including area planted and number of seedlings distributed, were consistently recorded in official progress reports and served as primary measures of success (Table 6). In addition, annual reports recorded participation in the National Tree Planting Period at village and county levels, providing a practical indicator of community mobilization and local engagement in the Do stage.
Table 5
Achievements of the First 10-Year Forest Rehabilitation Plan (1973-1978) (Korea Forest Service 1997)
Category
Plan target (A)
Actual achievement (B)
Achievement rate (B/A)
Total area planted (1000 ha)
1000
1080
108%
- Long-term species
195
358
184%
- Fast-growing species
300
360
120%
- Fuelwood forests
205
208
101%
- Fruit/Nut trees
300
154
51%
Seedling production (Million trees)
2,132
3,054
143%
Table 6
Key indicators and data sources by stage of Korea’s reforestation strategy under the RPDCA framework
Stage
Key indicators
Description/Source
Plan
Reforestation targets (ha/year), degraded land identified, and planning laws
One innovative policy was the introduction of profit-sharing forests, which encouraged local communities to take an active role in forest management. Under this system, communities that managed reforested areas were entitled to a share of the profits from timber sales. This approach fostered a sense of ownership among local residents and ensured their participation in long-term forest management (FAO 1982; Min et al. 2014).
The Do stage was instrumental in translating strategic plans into tangible outcomes, supported by strong administrative capacity, scientific approaches, and close cooperation with local communities. As a result, the goals of the First 10-Year Forest Rehabilitation Plan (1973–1982) were achieved four years ahead of schedule, in 1978. Likewise, the Second Plan (1979–1988) was also completed early in 1987, due to the early attainment of its objectives (Kim and Kim 2013).
Beyond the technical and institutional measures documented in archival sources, Korea’s success was strongly conditioned by its unique sociocultural and political context. A relatively homogenous society with a strong sense of national identity, influenced by Confucian traditions that emphasized respect for authority, created fertile ground for a top-down mobilization strategy (Lee et al. 2015). Economic growth and external aid provided fiscal capacity, while community forestry and profit-sharing systems offered direct incentives for local participation. Importantly, as Park and Youn (2017) emphasize, the restoration program represented a whole-of-government approach. Non-forestry ministries supported the effort: the Ministry of Commerce and Industry liberalized timber imports and promoted cement as a substitute for timber in construction; the Ministry of Construction restricted building permits and introduced briquette-based heating systems; and the Korea Forest Service was given enforcement authority to prevent illegal logging. These interlocking measures illustrate that Korea’s success cannot be attributed to forestry policies alone but to integrated governance across multiple sectors.
Check: the inspection system (Geommok)
Records of the Check stage included a variety of documents, such as inspection reports, progress tracking forms, and evaluations of reforestation project outcomes. This “Check” stage was the key differentiator between Korea’s success and previous failures, as the government introduced a rigorous “Inspection System” (Geommok) to verify the survival rates of planted trees and to ensure that the numerical targets of the Do stage translated into actual forest growth. Notably, during the implementation period, records categorized under the Check stage accounted for 29% of all documents, reflecting the heightened emphasis on monitoring, evaluation, and accountability during the peak of the national reforestation campaign (Table 6).
A particularly noteworthy aspect was the establishment of a multi-level evaluation system (Fig. 4). At its core, Geommok operated as a cross-inspection mechanism in which officials from different districts inspected each other’s plantation sites, thereby reducing local collusion and corruption. Despite the presence of comprehensive plans and large-scale implementation, numerous challenges emerged in the field. Among the most critical was the low survival rate of planted trees, often caused by insufficient monitoring and corruption. In some instances, local officials falsified reports on tree survival rates, undermining the credibility and effectiveness of the national effort.
Fig. 4
Multi-level evaluation system for evaluating the survival rate of planted trees
In response, the government implemented a three-tiered inspection system: first by neighboring county officials, then by officials from different provinces, and finally by central government agencies. These audits were conducted annually, typically in autumn, and focused on verifying survival rates and identifying areas requiring replanting. According to the 50 Years of National Reforestation report, survival rates of planted trees, which were often below 50% in the 1950s, improved to over 90% in the late 1970s under this strict monitoring regime. Poor survival rates triggered administrative penalties for local officials and mandatory replanting the following spring, linking the Check stage directly to corrective actions in the Act stage. This structured inspection protocol became institutionalized as a national monitoring mechanism and was documented in KFS procedural guidelines. Evaluation outcomes were recorded and compared across regions to identify outliers and trigger corrective action.
As a result, the system helped eliminate corruption and strengthened accountability in post-planting management. According to government reports, average survival rates in the late 1970s exceeded 90%, with some regions reporting over 93%. These figures became key performance indicators for both field officers and local governments (KFS 2017). Poor-performing areas were subject to mandatory replanting in the following spring. The effectiveness of Geommok is also reflected in forest stock statistics: Korea’s average growing stock increased from 11.31 m³ per hectare in 1973 to 17.33 m³ per hectare in 1978 (Table 3), indicating that monitored plantings translated into real biomass gains rather than merely recorded achievements.
Act: institutionalization and resettlement
Complementary measures based on reporting and evaluation enabled the continuous improvement of reforestation practices. According to records, especially after the 1980s, there were many approvals for changes to project and forest management plans. Within this Act stage, one of the most prominent examples of corrective action was the Shifting Cultivation Resettlement Program, which aimed to address a key driver of forest degradation identified through surveys and monitoring.
In addition, the government took steps to alleviate ongoing forest degradation by local residents, which persisted despite strict enforcement, by expanding fuelwood plantations and introducing fast-growing species. At the same time, efforts were made to encourage rural communities to shift from traditional biomass fuels to fossil fuels such as coal, supported by improvements in supply chains (Bae and Lee 2006). Public campaigns such as “Planting Trees is Patriotic” mobilized nationwide participation and reinforced the importance of collective action (Fig. 5). Drawing on findings from the Check stage that identified shifting cultivation as a major cause of deforestation, the government enacted the Act on Arrangement of Shifting Cultivation in 1966 and enforced it strictly throughout the 1970s. Between 1974 and 1979, a total of 300,796 households were resettled or otherwise stabilized, effectively eliminating shifting cultivation from forest lands; follow-up documents such as the Draft for Reforestation of Slash-and-Burn Areas (1981) record administrative measures to ensure that these lands were restored.
Fig. 5
Demonstration of how to plant trees for the public before the 34th Arbor Day commemorative tree planting ceremony in 1979 (National Archives of Korea 2024)
Findings from the Check stage were directly used to adjust implementation. For example, after identifying high rates of replanting in some provinces, the second national plan (1979–1988) was launched ahead of schedule. In later years, new policies such as forest thinning programs, the Framework Act on Forests, and long-term landscape planning were introduced to address emerging needs.
Nevertheless, the Act stage accounted for only 110 cases, or about 2% of the total RPDCA records, representing the smallest proportion. This indicates that, while Korea’s forest restoration efforts were largely successful, policy modifications and adaptive improvements were relatively limited in terms of formal documentation and institutionalization, compared to planning, implementation, and evaluation stages.
Despite limited documentation, government budgets were adjusted regularly based on monitoring outcomes. For instance, in response to the 1997–1998 financial crisis, the Fourth Forest Plan (1998–2007) included new investments in job-creating forest maintenance programs covering over 700,000 ha.
In practice, various follow-up measures, such as the establishment of the Second Basic Forest Plan, the expansion of nurseries, and improvements to the survival rate evaluation system, were implemented. However, these adjustments were based more on practical experience and field-oriented decision-making than on institutionalized improvement mechanisms, and these processes were not consistently recorded in official documents.
These findings indicate that forest policies at the time were primarily oriented toward execution and target fulfillment, with relatively less institutional focus on the final Act stage of the cycle. Even so, repeated trial-and-error and field-based adjustments were gradually incorporated into subsequent policies, leading to cumulative improvements. This trajectory aligns with global perspectives on restoration monitoring and adaptive cycles (Wortley et al. 2013; Mansourian and Vallauri 2014; Chazdon and Guariguata 2018; Gann et al. 2019), highlighting the importance of iterative evaluation and evidence-based policy refinement. Korea’s experience, particularly in linking the Geommok inspection system with large-scale resettlement and policy reforms such as the Act on Arrangement of Shifting Cultivation, offers transferable insights for countries seeking to institutionalize adaptive forest governance within long-term restoration planning.
Conclusions
South Korea’s reforestation is widely recognized as one of the most successful national restoration efforts in recent history. Reexamining this trajectory through the RPDCA framework shows that the outcome was not a one-time achievement, but the result of a management system in which diagnosis, planning, implementation, checking, and adjustment were continuously linked.
Korea’s experience suggests that large-scale restoration is most effective when it begins with a solid evidence base. The Research stage established quantitative baselines and mapped degradation patterns, which allowed subsequent plans to be grounded in realistic assessments rather than symbolic targets. Building on this foundation, the Plan and Do stages demonstrate how clearly defined national goals can be implemented when they are accompanied by practical strategies, appropriate administrative mandates, and mechanisms that connect central direction with local action, including community labor, village nurseries, and benefit sharing arrangements.
The Check stage underlines that planting trees is only one part of restoration. Systematic inspection of survival rates, standardized procedures for evaluating performance, and enforced consequences for falsified or poor results helped ensure that planted areas became functioning forests. The Act stage highlights the need to confront the socio-economic drivers of degradation, such as energy poverty and shifting cultivation, through policy reforms and livelihood measures rather than relying solely on restriction and enforcement. In combination, these stages show how technical interventions, governance reforms, and social measures were woven together over several decades.
Together, these insights point to a broader message for countries currently pursuing forest and landscape restoration. Durable success depends less on individual projects or campaigns than on the presence of a management cycle that links data, planning, implementation, verification, and policy adjustment, while also providing tangible benefits for local communities. In this sense, the RPDCA framework offers a practical lens for assessing and designing national programs under growing climate pressures and rising expectations for equity and participation. (AFoCO 2022; Stanturf et al. 2017)
At the same time, the RPDCA model has limitations when compared with adaptive management and forest and landscape restoration frameworks that place stronger emphasis on participatory and bottom-up approaches. Korea’s pathway was shaped by a particular political and cultural context marked by strong state authority and centralized decision making. For countries where multi-stakeholder governance and community-led processes are more prominent, the Korean case is best treated as a reference to be adapted rather than a template to be copied, illustrating how structured management cycles can be combined with more inclusive and locally driven forms of forest governance.
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the Korea Forest Service for providing access to the documentary materials on Korea’s reforestation, inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, and for their support in sharing related historical documents and resources essential for this research.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
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