Chungnam’s Premium 'Anmyeon Pine' Selected as One of the Top 10 Forest Genetic Resource Protection Areas

[Financial News, Hongseong = Reporter Kim Won-jun] Taean's 'Anmyeondo Pine Forest,' a premium forest representing Chungnam, has been named a core protected forest representing South Korea, proving its national ecological and historical value.
Chungnam Province announced on the 23rd that the pine forest on Anmyeondo Island was finally selected as one of the 'Top 10 Forest Genetic Resource Protection Areas for 2026' organized by the Korea Forest Service. The Korea Forest Service promoted this contest to identify and publicize core areas that not only possess outstanding ecological value but also have excellent conservation management among the 473 Forest Genetic Resource Protection Areas (totaling 180,000 hectares) nationwide.
The Anmyeondo pine forest is a historically significant forest that has been specially managed at the national level since the Goryeo Dynasty. In particular, during the Joseon Dynasty, it served as a source of top-quality timber for palace construction and royal coffins, preserving the deep historical significance of Korean forest culture. With a cluster of high-quality natural Anmyeon pine forests distributed across a 115-hectare site—equivalent to the size of 164 soccer fields—South Chungcheong Province has designated and managed it as a "Pine Genetic Resource Protection Forest" since 1978.
With this selection, the Anmyeondo pine forest has achieved a "triple crown" in the Korean forestry sector, having been designated as a "National Forest Cultural Asset" in 2019, a "Korea Forest Service Premium Forest" in 2023, and now a "Top 10 Forest Genetic Resource Protection Area."
Anmyeondo pine trees possess unique morphological characteristics, such as trunks that grow straight and tall with no branches at the bottom and only at the top. Due to their dense and hard grain, they were called "Hwangjangmok" during the Joseon Dynasty and were used as a key material for constructing royal palaces and ships. As such, they are considered a forest where the preservation of genetic resources at the national level is essential due to their high genetic excellence and academic value.
Taking this selection as an opportunity, South Chungcheong Province plans to further strengthen its response system to protect Anmyeon pine trees from pine wilt disease, which has recently been spreading nationwide. The province plans to intensify monitoring by mobilizing all available drones and precision surveillance personnel, while expanding the scope of preventive tree injections to ensure that not a single case of infection is allowed.
"The selection of the Anmyeondo pine forest as one of the top 10 forest genetic resource protection areas is the fruition of the devotion and efforts of the provincial residents who have protected the forests for generations," said Ahn Gyu-won, head of the Mountain Management Division of South Chungcheong Province. "We will do our utmost to control pine wilt disease and thoroughly protect our precious forest assets from the threat of the disease."
Meanwhile, the Korea Forest Service and South Chungcheong Province plan to continuously carry out maintenance of ecological trails and tree diagnostic consulting for the conservation and sustainable use of the Anmyeondo pine forest.

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