The area around Pungcheon-ri, known as one of Korea's leading pine nut producing regions, is facing a severe crisis because of the pumped-storage project. Pastor Park Seong-yul, who has supported the residents' struggle, visited the site and reported on the devastation already visible on Mt. Gari and in the village.
Pungcheon-ri has long relied on pine nut harvesting as a primary livelihood. The century-old pine forest is not only an economic base but the center of the village's history and culture. As relocation road and advance works proceed, thousands of pine trees have already been cut and the surrounding ecosystem is rapidly being damaged.
Park argues that this is not ordinary development. It is the uprooting of a community, a culture, and an ecological landscape built over generations. By sharing photographs and testimony from the site, he calls for far wider public attention to what is happening in Pungcheon-ri.
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