METASEQUOIA FOREST

[Anchor Lead]

This time we take you to Cheongju where an old tree planter dubbed the "tree grandpa", has been planting and taking care of more than 100,000 trees over the past 47 years. Thanks to his efforts, a bare mountain has been transformed into the nation's largest metasequoia forest.

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Metasequoia trees cover every foot of this mountain. This is the largest metasequoia colony in Korea. 72-year-old Jeong Hong-yong, known as Tree Grandpa, is the one who planted and took care of these trees. Having realized the importance of forestation as he traveled overseas, he purchased a bare mountain in his hometown and started planting trees. The forest he personally tends to measures 500,000 square meters, equal to roughly 70 football fields. He has so far planted more than 100,000 trees, mostly metasquoia, pine and cypress. Tree Grandpa has opened the forest he created to everyone free of charge.

[Soundbite] JEONG HONG-YONG(TREE GRANDPA) : "The forest isn't mine. It's for everyone, I'm satisfied if everyone enjoy it."

Jeong also plans to build a forest park to make the woods more enjoyable for visitors. It takes decades for a tree to grow to its full height. This tree lover has made his dream of creating a forest in his hometown come true by actually planting trees for the future generations.