Some days, sitting still with your eyes closed feels unusually difficult. When notifications and information keep pouring in, being told to stop thinking can feel like one more burden. For such people, the forest offers a different way in. As you walk, lie down and listen, the body begins to relax, and the mind follows. Forest therapy refers to activities that use the forest’s scenery, scents, sounds and sunlight to care for physical and mental health. Twenty years after the system took root, Korean forest therapy has moved beyond expanding facilities and now faces a new question: How deeply—and for how long—can visitors be encouraged to stay?
A forest therapy guide system built over 20 years
The legal foundation for forest recreation policy was established in 2005 with the enactment of the Act on Forest Culture and Recreation. The 2010 amendment introduced the concept of healing forests, and a 2011 amendment added the term “forest therapy” to the law. In 2012, the forest therapy guide system was launched to develop programs and lead visitors through therapeutic activities.
The Forest Welfare Promotion Act, enacted in 2015, established a system integrating recreation, education and therapy, and the Korea Forest Welfare Institute, under the Korea Forest Service, opened the following year. The institute manages two forest therapy centers, seven national forest education centers and 11 national healing forests. Together with 48 national natural recreation forests, 127 public natural recreation forests and 11 private natural recreation forests, these facilities have created a network that makes it possible to find a forest almost anywhere in the country.
Where meditation takes shape through movement: the National Center for Forest Therapy
One facility that brings this trend together is the National Center for Forest Therapy, which opened in 2016 across Yeongju and Yecheon in North Gyeongsang Province. The country’s first national forest therapy facility offers everything from forest walks, guided nature interpretation and hammock experiences to hydrotherapy, which stimulates the body with water pressure, and aquarobics, an exercise performed in water. Visitors can soak in an open-air bath while looking out at the forest, and the center also offers meditation, breathing, stretching and tea ceremony classes.
Seen through the lens of meditation, the center’s programs are a catalog of ways to enter meditation through the body. Options include Forest Hammock, a two-hour session relaxing in a hammock in the forest (12,000 won); singing bowl meditation and object meditation, each lasting an hour and focused on the resonance of sound (11,000 won each); and Forest Activity, a one-hour experience of nature on foot (6,000 won), and Forest Stroll, a two-hour walk (12,000 won). The center also offers healing equipment experiences (16,000 won) and Aquatherapy, which uses water (two hours, 26,000 won). Those unfamiliar with seated meditation can start with an activity that lets the body take the lead, such as walking or resting in a hammock. Those drawn to sound can move on to singing bowl meditation. Visitors can choose the path that suits them.
It is also worth noting that guest rooms do not have TVs or Wi-Fi. Simply staying there becomes practice in stepping away from screens.
Studies find forest therapy may help with inflammation, stress, cognitive function and mental illness
Research into the effects of forest therapy is also continuing. In 2022, the National Institute of Forest Science reported that walking in the forest and taking in the scenery can help reduce inflammatory responses in the body and stress levels. Researchers at Kangwon National University said in 2023 that, in an experiment involving 52 older adults with mild cognitive impairment, participants in a four-week forest therapy program saw their cognitive test scores rise and their diastolic blood pressure fall.
Large-scale analysis has also examined mental health. A research team from the National Institute of Forest Science and Seoul National University’s Graduate School of Public Health tracked for up to four years the National Health Insurance Service medical data of 32,000 people with recorded forest activities in 2016. The group with the highest level of activity was about 10% less likely than the comparison group to receive a new diagnosis of a mental illness such as anxiety or depression. The researchers estimated that if these effects extended to the entire population, the number of people receiving annual treatment for mental illness could fall by 4.2 million and medical costs could be reduced by about 5.6 trillion won.
The same forest, a different prescription
With forests covering about 63% of its land, South Korea is well positioned to expand forest therapy without creating new resources. In the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s 2025 National Sports Participation Survey, walking ranked first among the country’s popular activities, at 40.5%, and hiking ranked third, at 17.1%. In other words, people are already heading into the woods as part of daily life.
The challenge is to move beyond one-size-fits-all experiences. There are growing calls for programs tailored to age and health rather than offering the same forest walks, meditation and exercise to everyone. A 2019 meta-analysis by Jo Young-min found that play-based activities over 16 to 20 weeks were relatively effective for young children; overnight programs lasting two nights and three days for adolescents; and courses centered on physical activity over 11 to 15 weeks for young and middle-aged adults. Older adults showed marked positive changes after 11 to 15 weeks of walks, guided nature interpretation and sensory experiences. In a 2023 survey by the Korea Forest Welfare Institute, respondents aged 40 and under identified physical activity as an important therapeutic resource, those in their 50s pointed to the scents of nature, and those 60 and older cited phytoncides.
Choosing a form of meditation is no different. In the same forest, a brisk walk that works up a sweat may be meditation for one person, while another may find it in lingering over scents and sounds.
From one night to several days: the challenge of longer-stay models
Stays are still short. Among visitors to the National Center for Forest Therapy in the first half of 2026, 61% stayed one night and two days, 24% stayed two nights and three days, and just 2% stayed three nights or more. Analysts say that systematically combining meals, exercise, recreation and rest to extend stays—and connecting the center with local attractions, lodging and food—could boost both visitor satisfaction and the local economy.
Kang Dong-gyu, a forest therapy guide and head of the Korea Health Agriculture Research Institute, said the sector will struggle to keep growing if forest therapy is viewed only as a facilities project. He proposed an alternative: a longer-stay model that combines therapeutic agriculture, hot springs, walking, local culture and farm products to turn entire communities into places for health and recreation.
Toward a forest people want to visit again
The National Center for Forest Therapy received 136,316 visitors in 2024 and 118,630 in 2025. From January through June 2026, it welcomed 48,410 visitors. People in their 50s and 60s made up half of visitors, while those in their 20s and 30s accounted for 20%. In the first half of 2026, 86% of visitors chose a program that included an overnight stay.
Kim Ki-hyun, who took office as director of the National Center for Forest Therapy in April 2025, said he hopes to see forest classes added to elementary, middle and high school curricula, and forest therapy developed into a form of social prescribing in which medical institutions recommend it based on patients’ conditions and health insurance covers it. He also identified expanding facilities near cities and providing transportation for older adults as priorities. Plans include expanding programs for different stages of life and community service initiatives for people affected by wildfires and other vulnerable groups, as well as holding a healing expo and a World Healing Forum to promote the value of Korean forest therapy at home and abroad.
A cushion and four walls are not essential for resting a mind tired of information. Walking, lying down and listening in the forest can be a natural first step toward meditation for people whose bodies have grown tense in modern life. The next step toward longer-stay models will be closely watched: Can time in the forest, which deepens the longer one stays, become the face of Korean wellness presented to the world?
Reservations are available through Sooperang, operated by the Korea Forest Welfare Institute
Reservations for lodging and experiential programs at the National Center for Forest Therapy are available through Sooperang, operated by the Korea Forest Welfare Institute. Reservations for the following month open at 9 a.m. on the 15th of each month, and applications can be submitted until 3 p.m. the day before a visit. People age 65 and older can make reservations and payments by calling the customer support center. The facility has 108 guest rooms, including rooms for three, six and nine people. Rates range from 58,000 to 173,000 won, depending on room type and whether the stay is on a weekday or weekend. Check-in is from 3 to 9 p.m., and checkout is by 11 a.m. Drinking, smoking and cooking are prohibited on the premises, and only guests with advance reservations may use the dining hall. Visitors should bring their own water bottles, toiletries and towels. Pets are not allowed, but guide dogs and dogs in training for people with disabilities may enter if they wear identification.
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