Editor’s note = It has been 10 years since Mudeungsan was designated as a national park. It is said that mountains and rivers change in 10 years, but we have spent 10 years protecting and preserving Mudeungsan. We will send three articles looking back on the value and meaning of Mudeungsan Mountain, which shared the joys and sorrows of the citizens, and drawing a blueprint for the future, such as restoring the summit to its original form.
Reporter Cheon Jeong-in = Mudeungsan, the mother’s mountain, was given its name because the mountain is not steep.
Just like its name, Mudeungsan warmly embraces everyone who looks at it and stays by our side.
Citizens who climb the mountain love and express Mudeungsan in their own way in their lives.
We hear about their love for Mudeungsan, which marks the 10th anniversary of its designation as a national park.
A boy who kept memories of everyday life, such as picnics with his friends and playing in the valley with his family, is now the leader of a rescue team that rescues visitors in trouble.
Mudeungsan National Park Rescue Team leader Kim Hyung-wook said that he became a rescue team because he was attracted by the positive and bright energy of the visitors to the mountain.
Team leader Kim said, “I was working in the emergency room at a hospital and saw only sick people, but then I saw hikers greeting each other with a smile while hiking.” .
When Mudeungsan Mountain was designated as a national park, team leader Kim heard the news that safety management personnel would be recruited, and decided to join the rescue team.
He said, “I thought it would be more helpful if I went to the hospital because I did a good first aid here when an injured person occurred,” he said.
“As it became a national park, multi-purpose location signs were installed every 500m of the trail, and we are familiar with and patrolling every corner of the trail, such as habitual distress areas,” he said. I want you to take good care of your equipment.”
Citizen volunteers who voluntarily protect Mudeungsan are also constantly active.
Yang Hong-gil, who was commissioned as an ‘autonomous ranger’ by Mudeungsan National Park, has spent nearly 3,000 hours visiting Mudeungsan for the past 10 years, playing the role of guardian.
He guides illegal acts such as secretly smoking or using a portable burner in a secluded place off the trail, picking up trash, or looking for damaged trails.
He said, “I feel proud that I can help Mudeungsan with a small amount of strength along with the volunteers.”
Before Mudeungsan was designated as a national park, citizens voluntarily protected Mudeungsan.
Lee Jae-chang, head of the Mudeungsan Conservation Organizations Association, who was at the forefront of this, positively evaluated the 10 years of protection as a national park.
He said, “Mudeungsan, which has been protected by citizens, could be managed and protected systematically by the state.
Although the existing role of the council has been reduced, he said he is rather comfortable with it.
He now expressed his intention to continue his love for Mudeungsan by promoting and globalizing the mountain.
Professor Heo Min of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Chonnam National University evaluated that the designation of the national park and the UNESCO Global Geopark is creating a synergistic effect.
Professor Huh said, “As Mt. Mudeungsan became a national park, it was recognized as a national treasure complex, and as it was designated as a global geopark, our treasure complex became a proud mountain for the world.” 토토사이트
“As a national park, if we emphasize only preservation and protection, sanctions always follow, but we are also thinking about ways to make it live well with local residents by designating it as a global geopark,” he explained, “to create synergy with each other.”
Mudeungsan has a very special meaning to Gwangju Mayor Kang Ki-jeong.
During the military dictatorship in the 1980s, he recalled that it became a hiding place for him and his colleagues who were pursued by public authorities while fighting for democracy.
Mayor Kang, who still climbs Mudeungsan Mountain in times of hardship or joy, said, “It is a mountain for Gwangju citizens who is always by their side.”
Mayor Kang said, “From September of this year, the top of Mudeungsan Mountain has been open to the public and returned to the citizens in its entirety.”