Pine wilt disease must be declared a national disaster — and a second greening movement must begin
Over more than four decades as a forest official and, later, as chief of the Korea Forest Service, I witnessed firsthand how South Korea's forests were transformed. Looking back, the past 50 years were nothing short of miraculous. Through the devoted participation of every citizen and relentless pan-government effort, the barren, denuded hills and fields of this country have been reborn as the lush, verdant and beautiful forests the world now envies. This is more than a recovery of nature — it is a great national achievement forged by a people united as one.
Yet today, the precious forests we built with blood and sweat face a grave threat: pine wilt disease, known as the "AIDS of pine trees" and the "silent wildfire" that reduces forests to ash. This terrifying acute infectious disease has no treatment once a tree is infected and carries a fatality rate of 100 percent. It has been spreading with even greater ferocity as it intersects with the climate crisis. Particularly alarming is that the disease has now moved well beyond ordinary forests, penetrating national parks — the ecological backbone of the Baekdudaegan mountain range — cultural heritage protection zones steeped in history and tradition, and the forests immediately surrounding communities where people live their daily lives. The country now faces a national crisis of spreading infection.
Pine wilt disease can no longer be dismissed as a mere forest pest. It demands the same highest-level sense of urgency as foot-and-mouth disease or avian influenza (AI) outbreaks, which inflict enormous damage on the national economy and people's livelihoods. Beyond that, it must be formally designated a natural and social disaster under the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, just as wildfires and landslides are. Only then can the scientific, systematic "prevention-preparedness-response-recovery" manual at the heart of the national disaster management framework be rigorously applied to pine wilt disease control.
The current lethal pace of spread has reached a point where the Korea Forest Service and local government forestry departments cannot contain it on their own. The government must immediately declare the highest level — Serious — under the national crisis alert system, which runs from Attention through Caution and Alert to Serious, and respond accordingly. Just as the entire nation mobilizes under a state of emergency when livestock epidemics strike, the central government and all relevant agencies must tear down the walls between ministries and commit every available budget and personnel resource to a full pan-government response. Only by treating this as a national disaster and acting preemptively can the chain of transmission be broken.
Alongside an all-out government response, nothing matters more than public awareness and active participation. With the same urgent spirit that drove earlier generations to plant trees on bare mountains, the nation must now launch a pan-national "second greening movement" to protect its forests and pine trees from this deadly disaster. The prerequisite is a shift in public consciousness — a break from what might be called the "tragedy of the commons." Today's forests are more than shared land; they are where people live, work and rest. Only when every citizen feels a sense of ownership — treating the forest as a precious personal asset — will people voluntarily step forward to fight climate disasters and pine wilt disease.
The practical steps are close at hand. When hiking on a weekend or walking near a residential area, anyone who spots pine trees with reddening needles or signs of dying should report it immediately — a single call to the forestry department of the relevant city, county or district, or to the Korea Forest Service's dedicated pine wilt disease control call center at 1588-3249, is all it takes. In addition, the government and local authorities must significantly expand the pine wilt disease reporting reward program to build a dense, voluntary prevention network woven into everyday life. The forests are the fruit of the sweat and tears of those who came before us. Now it falls to us to defend them, under the banner of pan-government action and a second greening movement.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
