The Korea Mountain Rescue Association has successfully completed the 2025 Major Forest Road Accident Prevention Project in 20 locations nationwide

Nov 27, 2025

photo courtesy of the Korea Mountain Rescue Association

With the support of the Korea Forest Service and the Korea Mountain Rescue Association (Chairman Noh Ik-sang), the "2025 Major Forest Road Accident Prevention Project" was carried out in 20 major forest roads (including three East-West Trails) across the country.

According to the Korea Forest Service's Survey on National Consciousness of Forest Road Experience, such as Climbing, 78% of adults in Korea hike and trekking on forest roads more than once a month, and the annual population reaches 32.29 million, making hiking a representative national outdoor activity.

In addition, according to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security's Disaster Yearbook, there were 10,100 hiking accidents in 2023, the third highest after traffic accidents (198,296) and fire accidents (38,857), and the trend is increasing every year.

photo courtesy of the Korea Mountain Rescue Association

The "2025 Major Forest Road Accident Prevention Project" was operated from April to November, and was promoted through campaign booths to prevent safety accidents and improve the forest road environment through promotion of hiking safety, first aid (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), pre-removal of rocks and dangerous objects by mountain rescuers, and environmental purification activities. In addition, safety signs were installed in areas at risk of falling rocks and falls to prevent accidents and spread the culture of safe forest roads as the number of users increased.

About 70 mountain rescuers from all over the country participated in the '2025 Major Forest Road Accident Prevention Project Workshop' held in May. In the workshop, training on business operation guidelines, safety training, and demonstration of rock removal in dangerous areas were conducted, and field-oriented training was conducted, such as practicing the rock removal process using specialized climbing equipment on actual rock walls.

The campaign booth was operated at the entrance of 20 major hiking trails and forest roads nationwide, and in connection with local events and competitions, first aid training, CPR experience, how to check the location (coordinate) using a smartphone, and how to knot. In addition, 12,000 climbing safety scarves were produced and distributed that contained basic hiking methods, first aid tips, CPR, and environmental purification (LNT) tailored to the hiker's eye level, which received great response.

photo courtesy of the Korea Mountain Rescue Association

At the same time, mountain rescuers carried out the removal of rocks and dangerous substances. Rock removal consisted of eight mountain rescuers from each location as a team. It was carried out under thorough safety management, including the deployment of hiking trail control personnel to prevent secondary accidents during work. It also carried out environmental cleanup activities to collect waste from dangerous areas such as Amneung and Valley, which are difficult for the general public to access.

Noh Ik-sang, President of the Korea Mountain Rescue Association, said "We will further strengthen the safety management system in line with the changing hiking environment and create the Korea Mountain Rescue Association so that anyone can use forest roads with confidence." he said.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.