Detail

`More than 26 years have already elapsed since Korea was divided into halves, south and north. The division remains the nation`s most agonizing tragedy. In the north, many of our compatriots are helplessly suffering from the oppression of a totalitarian regime which has long deprived them of their freedom. Their miserable plight makes it all the more imperative for us to step up our economic buildup to help achieve national unification. President Park Chung Hee called on the nation in February 1971 to launch a nationwide campaign to develop ``Tongil Dongsan`` - unification groves. Accordingly, the campaign was started on April 5 of the same year as part of Arbor Day programs. The forestation movement has since been under way on the basis of city, county, township and village communities as well as primary, middle and high schools in cooperation with the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry, Education, Home Affairs and Culture and Information, and the Office of Forestry. This year, various projects and programs planned in line with the campaign will be carried out from March 10 to April 20. The groves, being developed through voluntary popular participation in planting and taking care of trees, will serve as a constant reminder of the nation`s determination to attain territorial unification. The unification groves, therefor, will not merely symbolize the nation`s cherished desire to attain unification but also signify the national unity and spirit of self-help. The Ministry of Communications, in the hope that the campaign will not only see more trees planted but also bring continuous popular attention to them and that such groves will provide a source of inspiration in the nation`s efforts toward unification, is issuing a special stamp to publicize the campaign.`