Greetings to all, I am Professor Han Bong-ho, specializing in ecology at the Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Seoul. Today I'm at Namsan Mountain to welcome spring. Many citizens are enjoying Namsan in springtime. Namsan has beautiful forests and lovely flowers blooming. However, when you enter the forest, there are many hidden stories. Inside the forest live frogs and birds, and beautiful flowers bloom. There are also various painful stories. Today, we'll take a look at both Namsan Mountain's beautiful aspects and its various secrets. Shall we begin?
                      
Namsan is a crucial space in Seoul. It's important both historically and culturally. When Hanyang became the capital during the Joseon Dynasty, they built fortress walls here. From that time, they began managing the forest systematically. They planted many pine trees here. Using the pine tree protection policy, they managed it as a pine forest, and even now, pine trees remain on Namsan's southern slope. So you can see it as a historically significant space. It's also the most important space from an ecological perspective. It's located in the center of Seoul's total area and is isolated. As the city developed, all the living creatures in the urban area gathered in Namsan. You can think of it as an ecologically crucial isolated space in Seoul where various species of birds and frogs live. It's extremely important as a recreational space for citizens. It's the most accessible nature spot for Seoul citizens to visit on weekends or for relaxation. Additionally, it serves as an important observatory where foreigners can view Seoul at a glance. You can think of Namsan as both a leisure and recreational space for citizens and a significant tourist destination.
                      
We're now at an observatory where we can see Namsan's forest most beautifully. Originally, the entire Namsan forest was a pine forest. However, Namsan's forest began to change significantly. One of the reasons was the Korean War. As the surrounding city developed, the forest changed. On the northern slope, pine trees disappeared and were replaced by oak forests. The southern slope, receiving more sunlight, is still a place where historically cultivated pine trees grow well. However, you can see that even in this area, as time passes, oak trees are emerging and pine trees are now dying off. To preserve this Namsan forest, Seoul Metropolitan Government has designated and manages it as an ecological landscape conservation area.
                      
Yes, this is the pine forest on Namsan's southern slope. As visitors increase, many informal trails like this are appearing. 시When many citizens pass through, the ground gets trampled. When heavily trampled, the soil becomes compacted We call this ‘soil compaction’. When soil compaction occurs, water cannot penetrate into the ground. This means roots cannot properly absorb water, affecting pine tree growth. Moreover, when citizens come through these informal trails, it's not just people coming in. Seeds of invasive species from outside attach to citizens' clothes and shoes and are brought in. You can see that our forest's disturbance occurs precisely because of these informal trails and soil compaction.
                      
If these continue, Namsan's ecosystem will disappear. Before it's too late, I believe it's time to proceed with the Namsan recovery project to restore it. Seoul Metropolitan Government is now attempting a Namsan recovery project. 
Among the three plans to restore Namsan's ecosystem, the first is restoring informal trails. After accurately surveying the main walking paths and surrounding informal trails, we'll properly maintain the most frequently used walking paths for citizens' convenience, while blocking other informal trails and replanting the original vegetation that was there. This process of blocking and restoring informal trails will be necessary. The second is preventing invasive species that disturb Namsan's ecosystem. These invasive species mainly enter through walkways and roadsides via citizens or transportation. We need to accumulate data through monitoring which species are entering, where, and how much, remove them, and then replant native species that originally lived in that area to restore Namsan's original ecosystem. Furthermore, Namsan Park needs facilities and spaces for citizens' leisure and tourists' safe and beautiful sightseeing. We face many challenges in planning and implementing these. We need to work through these challenges to make it a world-class destination. 
                      
Substantial financial resources are needed to restore Namsan's ecosystem and create leisure spaces. We need to secure and utilize public financial resources for this, and the Namsan gondola project is being pursued to secure these public financial resources. Since these projects face conflicts between preservation and use, we thought it would be better to proceed through cooperation between private and public sectors rather than unilateral government implementation Therefore, we are proceeding through operating a consultative body via the Sustainable Namsan Development Council. The Namsan gondola project will connect Namsan Yejang Park to the summit where N Seoul Tower is located. 곤The gondola will provide opportunities for socially vulnerable people to enjoy nature well. Public financial resources resources generated from the gondola project will be used for restoring Namsan's ecosystem. Therefore, this project will be an important opportunity to resolve conflicts between preservation and use, and social conflicts. We believe this will become an exemplary case of mutually beneficial implementation of various development projects both globally and in our country.
                      
Namsan is a space of historical and cultural importance. It is a crucial space in Seoul's ecosystem And it is a space filled with the vitality of Seoul's citizens. It is my hope that we preserve and manage this important space well to pass it on to future generations, and that future generations will recognize its value and use it well.