(Daejeon=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jun-ho = The Korea Forest Service announced on the 5th that it has selected Gu Bon-sang (64), the representative of the Taegi Mountain Pine Nut Farming Corporation in Hoengseong County, Gangwon Province, as the 'Forester of the Month'.
Hoengseong County's Taegi Mountain is renowned for producing high-quality pine nuts due to its favorable conditions for pine tree growth.
Representative Gu began leasing a pine forest on the slopes of Taegi Mountain from the state in 2007 to start producing pine nuts.
Initially, he sold the harvested pine nuts without processing, resulting in low profitability. However, starting in 2020, he began managing the entire process from harvesting to processing and distribution to increase profitability.
To expand his business, Gu actively utilized support programs from the Korea Forest Service.
In 2018, he was selected for the Korea Forest Service's Mountain Comprehensive Distribution Center project and established a state-of-the-art processing plant. He now selects the best quality pine nuts, cleans and dries them, and sells them.
Based on quality and competitiveness, he produces and sells 14.3 tons of pine nuts annually, generating 1.2 billion won in annual sales.
The Korea Forest Service explained that the pine nuts produced by Gu are highly praised by consumers for their strong aroma and rich flavor.
Kim Yong-jin, Director of the Private Forest Management and Income Division at the Korea Forest Service, said, "Representative Gu's case is a good example of creating high income by managing the entire process from processing forest products to distribution." He added, "In the future, we plan to actively support facilities for processing and distributing forest products to increase the income of foresters and expand the production of high-quality forest products."