Jeju Special Self-Governing Province’s Department of Natural Asset Preservation officially unveiled its One Oreum Per One Organization Care Movement this past February.
The purpose of the program is twofold, said Kang Myung Gyun of the department in an email to The Jeju Weekly. It serves to protect precious natural assets through constant observation and maintenance of oreum (parasitic volcanic cones) and to create an efficient management system for oreum by encouraging Jeju citizens to participate in the campaign.
A recent increase in tourists and hikers to oreum have taxed the ministry’s labor force. Kang said that not only will the oreum be better protected by encouraging the public’s participation, but it will also afford citizens a unique experience to increase their understanding of the importance of this natural asset.
Moon Chang Ki of the Jeju Sarang Oreum Club, which is responsible for the maintenance of Noggomue oreum in Jangjeon-li, Aewul-eup, Jeju City, said he felt it was important for his organization to participate in this program.
“Oreum are a natural heritage we should pass on to our descendants. We should preserve oreum,” he said before adding, “I believe to look after oreum is to look after the world’s natural heritage.”
The program is only available to organizations with enough active members to monitor the entire oreum and its facilities. Their responsibilities consist of having to visit their assigned oreum once a month to clean up trash, check for damage to the natural environment and its facilities, and monitor for destruction of the local ecosystem by people cutting down trees or removing plants and rocks without permission.
Moon, a weekly oreum hiker, said that ensuring his organization upholds its responsibilities “is not that difficult,” because activities to maintain the oreum consist primarily of observation and trash disposal. “Since it is not very difficult work, we plan to continue this activity for quite a long time (maybe about 10 years),” he said.
An application period that started last December is now closed, and 100 oreum (61 in Jeju City, 39 in Seogwipo City) have been assigned to organizations. Kang said of the 368 oreum on Jeju, only 150 are accessible to the public while the remaining 258 “are located in inaccessible places like national parks,” he said, “but we plan to designate 50 more oreum” during the second phase of the project that has not yet been determined.
“Since [the campaign] is only in its beginning stage, we cannot decide whether the program is successful or not. However, I believe it will succeed,” said Kang.
(Translation by Koh Yu Kyung) <Jeju Weekly>
<Darryl Coote darrylcoote@jejuweekly.comⓒ Jeju Weekly All rights reserved>
