'Celebrity forests' emerge as new K-pop trend in Seoul

Japanese fans of BTS take a selfie in front of their idol's poster at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in Yeonje District, Oct. 13, 2022, two days before the K-pop boyband holds a concert at the venue. Newsis

Environmentally conscious K-pop fans make Han River greener, more sustainable space

By Ko Dong-hwan

Seoul's man-made forest green spaces are expected to get denser this year ― thanks to K-pop fans from across the world.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday that a new 10,000 square meter reserve will be established in Nanji Hangang Park at the western end of Seoul in Mapo District. Trees bought with money donated by K-pop fans will be planted there.

The Nature and Ecology Division of the city government's Parks and Recreation Bureau said they plan to start the Nanji riverside park business this spring. They expect that as K-pop popularity grows across the world, so too will donations.

"We think that celebrity forests in Seoul represent a model for global K-pop fans' fandom culture to help conserve nature and fend off the climate crisis," said an official from the division. "We want to fully support the project so that this kind of fandom culture can expand further."

Fans of Jungkook from BTS chipped in to make up Jungkook Forest No.4 at Ichon Hangang Park in Seoul's Yongsan District. It consists of 603 East Asian hackberries and more. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

By bringing together different "celebrity forests" each dedicated to a different celebrity and having it all in one place, the new site at Nanji Hangang Park will become the city's biggest collective celebrity forest on the capital's river. The new forest landscape plan differs from that of other celebrity forests that had been created in the past; different forests will be placed around the riverside area, instead of just randomly.

There have been nine celebrity forests so far. There are three celebrity forests in Jamsil Hangang Park, two in Ichon, two in Gwangnaru, and one each in Jamwon and Yeouido. The earliest of these is "RM Forest No.1" in Jamsil, established in August 2019. With donations made for the leader of global K-pop sensation BTS, 1,250 bridal wreaths were planted. A second forest named after RM was made in September 2020 in Ichon, where three East Asian hackberries and 200 bridal wreaths were planted.

Other members of the band, Jungkook, V, Jimin and Jin, also have forests named after them. The latest, No.9 "Jin Forest" with 10 horse chestnuts was introduced on Yeouido in December 2022. As of January 2023, the total number of trees in all the celebrity forests funded by BTS fans, known as the Army, reached 3,900.

Jin Forest, planned by supporters of BTS' Jin, was introduced in December 2022. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Trot soloist Youngtak and Ha Sung Woon from K-pop project boyband Wanna One also asked their fans to chip in for the cause. Youngtak was commemorated with three Chinese Fringetrees and 400 winged spindles in October 2021, while Ha was celebrated with four Yoshino cherries and 96 panicle hydrangeas in May 2022.

"Each forest costs from 24 million to 30 million won ($19,000 to $24,000) on average to buy trees from local landscape firms in Korea," Cho Yun-hwan from Seoul KFEM, the organizer, told The Korea Times. "The fans collected the money by themselves and transferred it to us. There have been a lot more local fans in Korea than those from outside the country who have made contributions to these projects."

The city government said the upcoming celebrity forests at Hangang Park will include decorative installations desired by fans such as nameplates for their idols, foot or handprint molding, as well as life-size cut-outs in the shapes of their idols.

"From music to movies and sports, 'hallyu' stars in various genres will receive our city government's support to create more forests at Nanji park," Joo Yong-tae, the chief of Han River Recreation Bureau, said. "The forests definitely help raise public awareness of the climate crisis and the need for people to expand climate activities. We also hope the forests will become another tourism hotspot in the city."

Cho said that their initiatives are purely voluntary. He said the fans were motivated by their idols who somehow advocated for climate justice in one way or another. "As their idols are irreplaceable, the fans believe that so is the earth," Cho said.

Celebrity forests stem from the city government's urban development project around the river which began in 2013. It allowed members of the public, companies or celebrity fandoms to donate money and plant trees under their names to improve the landscape of the riverside environment and improve the city's air quality. So far, the authority has approved 588 different forests, which comprise almost 180,000 trees.

Jang Se-bom, an official from the nature and ecology division, confirmed that not a penny from the city government's coffers was spent on preparing trees for the forests. "The fans donate the money under the purpose of contributing to the fund to buy and plant the trees," Jang told The Korea Times. "Seoul KFEM works with the fans in hiring landscape architectural firms to design and create celebrity forests. We just provide them with a patch of land. For others interested in planting trees under their names, we also provide them with necessary tools like shovels, gloves, fertilizers and water."