Why Forest Walks in Germany Help Relieve Pain in the Elderly

A forest with densely packed trees does not necessarily mean a healthy ecosystem. According to the KBS 'Environment Special: Mountain Day Special - The Forest Comes Back to Life' (broadcast on October 18, 2006) video, what is more important than forest density is the ecological environment where undergrowth plants and animals can live, and such healthy forests have a direct impact on human physical and mental healing.

Germany's Forest Management Philosophy of Leaving Dead Trees Alone

Bavarian Forest National Park in Germany is a representative forest experience center where more than 98% of the park consists of trees. The management method here focuses on respecting the laws of nature. The video shows that even when trees that failed to survive the competition die naturally, they are not artificially removed. This is because the nutrients generated during the process of dead trees rotting and disappearing are supplied back to the forest to nurture new life. Forest rangers conduct management at a level that ensures dead trees do not cause direct harm to people, thereby maintaining the ecosystem of a primeval forest.

Children in Germany learn how to coexist with the forest from a young age. The wild experience space for children appearing in the video takes the form of a 'grass house' with a roof made of soil and covered in grass. All facilities are made of wood instead of plastic or steel, providing an environment where children can naturally grow as part of the forest. Through this education, Germans accept the forest as a part of their lives.

Physical Healing Effects Provided by Forest Walks and Nordic walking

The German resort city of Freudenstadt is a city designed around the forest. Hotels and facilities here operate for long-term visitors wishing to enjoy the forest, and various physical therapy programs utilizing the forest are provided. In particular, 'Nordic walking', performed under the guidance of certified professional instructors, is highly popular as a walking method that reduces the burden on knee joints while inducing more breathing. In dedicated Nordic walking sections, instructors check the health status of participants and pace them accordingly.

Forest-based convalescence methods are actually used as prescriptions in actual medical settings. The video introduces the case of 82-year-old grandmother Mertel. The grandmother followed a prescription to walk in the forest for six weeks at a municipal nursing home, and as a result, her pain was relieved, allowing her to be discharged. Medical staff judge that the effect is greater when exercising while looking at the forest rather than exercising in the city, and explain that prescribing forest walks to elderly people with weakened immunity is one of the common treatments in Germany. Japan also was the first in the world to reveal the physiological effects of forest therapy, confirming that merely admiring forest landscapes has an excellent effect on reducing Cortisol, the hormone that causes depression.

The Ecological Crisis of Korean Forests Caused by Dense Trees

The intensive afforestation projects carried out after the Korean War turned more than 70% of the national territory into lush forests, but from an ecological perspective, it caused problems such as a 'green desert'. According to the video, trees planted too densely act as a roof, preventing sunlight from reaching the ground. As a result, the forest floor becomes dry land, creating an environment where not even a single blade of grass or a single butterfly can live. Additionally, in areas where forest tending is insufficient, rainwater cannot seep into the ground, which becomes a cause for humans to suffer serious drinking water shortages.

To solve these problems, advanced forestry countries such as Germany and Japan conduct 'thinning' operations. The video shows the difference through the Gwangneung Experimental Forest, where artificial afforestation experiments are active in our country. The forest that has undergone tending and the forest that has not are very contrasting, separated by just one path. In the forest that has been tended, lush undergrowth plants and animal life are breathing actively on moist soil, but in the untended forest, not even a single blade of grass can be found on the dry ground. Ultimately, it suggests that 'forest tending', which creates forests capable of embracing life, is an essential task for the healthy coexistence of forests and humans.