Park Chung-Hee, who led South Korea after a coup d’état in 1961 and later as president from 1963 until his assassination in 1979, was determined to quickly reforest the nation. Under his reforestation plan, all Korean villages, offices, homes, students, and both government and non-government organisations were encouraged to plant trees and tend forests as a daily responsibility. Ordinary Koreans took on the role of gardeners to reforest the country.
Evangeline Elsa/Gulf News