Image: Jinju City ()
Jinju in Wolasan Forest completed a successful first year of full-scale operation.
‘Jinju in Wolasan Forest’ provides various forest culture and recreational services centered on Wolasan Forest adding value as a treasure of Jinju City.
Starting with the opening of Wolasan Woodland in April 2018, Jinju City opened a natural recreation forest and forest leisure sports complex in the first half of last year, and started full-scale operation of the complex forest welfare facility, ‘Jinju in the Wolasan Forest’.
In the midst of gradually recovering daily life after the COVID-19 pandemic, citizens’ interest and visits continued, and the first year of operation was successfully completed, with about 227,000 people visiting in 2022 alone.
Wolasan Woodland, a forest education center for children Fun Wolasan Woodland, which has been operated mainly as a wood culture experience center since 2018, has also established itself as a forest education center centered on children and families.
A woodworking experience, allows children and adults to touch and feel wood directly and make their own works to realize the value and importance of wood. In addition, you can have precious time to reflect on the meaning of the forest once again through the forest commentary and forest experience for children in the forest of Wolasan Mountain.
In addition to the existing programs, the children’s library program is being improved through book-linked activities such as ecology, music, and English. The Forest Experience Center for Toddlers, named Oriole Forest and Hoopoe Forest, has become a family playground where they can play, rest, and enjoy the forest by installing a rope playground and hammock.
A variety of special experience programs such as family yoga, singing ball therapy, rope play, and upcycling pop-up book making were operated to provide more enjoyable activities so that visitors could fully enjoy their experience.
Jinju City was certified by the Forest Service in 2019 as a forest education program and received additional certification from the Forest Service in 2022, becoming the only local government in Gyeongnam with more than three forest education certification programs.
Wolasan Natural Recreation Forest, which opened in April of last year, consists of 4 houses in the forest, 1 forest recreation center (10 rooms), 8 glamping buildings, and 5 camping decks.
Last year, there were 22,045 guests staying at Wolasan Natural Recreation Forest, which was so popular that the room utilization rate (usage rate compared to the number of operating rooms) reached 93%..
Facility usage fees are 75,000 won to 240,000 won for accommodation buildings, 105,000 won to 125,000 won for glamping, and 20,000 won to 24,000 won for camping decks.
Jinju citizens, the disabled, basic livelihood security recipients, single-parent families, multicultural families, national veterans, and families with multiple children benefit from a 30% reduction in usage fees on weekdays during the off-season.
Mt. Wola Forest Leports Complex, Forest Leisure Sports Complex
Wolasan Forest Leports Complex opened in May of last year as a leports facility and adventure experience center created using the difference in height of the valley of Wolasan Mountain and the unique space in the forest.
Currently, they are operating ‘Net Adventure’, an amusement facility that uses wooden structures and forests to place nets, and ‘Curved Zip Wire’, an adventure experience facility that descends along a curved pipeline. In addition, the ‘Heavenly Forest Road’, a walking trail where you can enjoy the atmosphere of the forest closer, was created so that you can enjoy the beautiful view of Wola Mountain.
Net Adventure costs 5,000 won for children and 7,000 won for teenagers and adults for 50 minutes per session. Curved zip wire costs 8,000 won for children and 10,000 won for teenagers and adults, and a 30% discount for Jinju citizens.
Promoting ‘National Garden’ following the creation of ‘Wolasan Mountain Healing Forest’
Jinju City is promoting the creation of a ‘Healing Forest’ by utilizing forest healing factors such as phytoncide and negative ions emitted by the forest at the foot of Janggundaebong Peak of Wolasan Mountain. As a result, from 2024, you will be able to enjoy forest healing along with forest education, recreation, and leisure sports in Jinju in the forest of Mt. Wola.
Furthermore, through active communication and voluntary participation with civil society, the region’s unique forest and garden culture, which starts from the traditional culture of the region and leads to the future, is newly converged and spread to include the ‘Jinju in the Forest and efforts are being made to develop it into a national garden.
