Korea Forest Service adds non-profit groups to trainer program

The Korea Forest Service said it has expanded the types of organizations eligible to train forest healing guides to include registered non-profit private groups. The amendment to the enforcement decree of the Act on Forest Culture and Recreation takes effect immediately upon its promulgation on July 28.

The change was made to activate the training of forest healing guides by adding these entities to the list of designated institutions. Under the revised decree, eligible groups must be registered under the Support Act for Non-Profit Private Organizations and have forest healing as their primary purpose.

Forest healing guides are experts who plan and develop customized programs using healing and natural recreation forests while supporting related activities. The national professional certificate is issued by the head of the service and divided into first and second grades.

As of January 2026, there were 17 designated training institutions across the country, including Seoul National University, Kookmin University and Catholic University. The service had previously announced that it would administer the first and second-grade evaluation tests for 2026 on Jan. 31 and announce the successful candidates on March 5.