GoWoon Kim, Dowon Lee
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University

With increasing interest in indigenous knowledge of resource management, traditional forest-related knowledge has also become an interesting subject of research. As a field with the specific features of “traditional” created to provide an alternative strategy in responding environmental issues, TEK or TFRK begins from exploring the indigenous understanding of nature and natural resources so as to develop alternative theory or resource management practices. However, TEK and TFRK have not yet gained sufficient scholarly attention especially from Asian scholars when comparing with modern science, even though many countries possess rich cultural resources which can be a starting point of TEK or TFRK research such as existing landscape features, local management practices, and even stories and proverbs.
In this regard, this paper attempts to describe the appreciation of Korean people in the traditional society toward forests and trees by examining forest-related Korean proverbs, and to provide some practical examples of forest management at a village level. The specific examples are a wind-break forest in the East coastal region in the Gangwon Province and a village forest called Sillim located in Wonju, Gangwon Province. It will also be shown how traditional people’s belief systems interplay with the acquired forest management practices. As a result, this study aims at developing an integrated perspective of TERK so as to contribute to the current TEK and TFRK academic discourses.