“Why Put a Love for the Ages Here?” ... Clueless Couple Carves Graffiti into Hwadam Forest Birch Tree with a Stone, Finally...

Hwadam Forest: "We confirmed damage caused by carving letters with sharp tools"
Immediate removal if caught; criminal penalties possible depending on the circumstances

The operator of Hwadam Forest, a famous arboretum in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, has warned of a tough response, including possible legal action, after repeated cases of people damaging birch trees by carving names and initials into them.

Birch trees at Hwadam Forest were damaged after initials and names were carved into them. Screenshot from Hwadam Forest's official Instagram.

According to Hwadam Forest on November 12, the LG Sangnok Foundation, which operates the arboretum, posted a notice titled “No Damage to Trees at Hwadam Forest” on its official social media accounts the previous day, along with several photos of damaged birch trees. The photos showed names and English initials carved into the bark. The marks appear to have been made by scraping the trees with stones or sharp objects.

Hwadam Forest said, “We recently confirmed that some trees in the birch forest had been damaged by people carving letters and leaving marks with sharp tools.” It added, “Carving letters into or injuring tree bark can adversely affect the trees’ growth and damages the precious natural environment of a forest that has been nurtured for many years.”

Hwadam Forest emphasized that all forms of damage to trees are prohibited, including carving letters or pictures into them, peeling off their bark, and breaking branches. It said that anyone found damaging trees would be immediately removed from the premises without warning and that, depending on the circumstances, it could take legal action under relevant laws.

Under Article 366 of the Criminal Act, anyone who damages another person’s property or impairs its utility may face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 7 million won. Hwadam Forest said, “The marks carved into the birch trees are not easily erased, and it takes a long time for the trees to recover.” It urged visitors to “observe proper etiquette and cooperate so that these precious trees can remain healthy for many years to come.”

People were spotted carving their initials into a birch tree at Hwadam Forest with stones. Screenshot from Hwadam Forest’s official Instagram and Threads.

A recent social media post also said that someone had witnessed a couple carving letters into a birch tree with a stone at Hwadam Forest. However, it has not been confirmed whether the couple’s actions in the post were the same as the cases of tree damage officially confirmed by Hwadam Forest.

The poster, identified as A, claimed, “I couldn’t believe my eyes at Hwadam Forest. They didn’t care even though everyone walking by was staring at them.” A added, “Both the man and the woman were carving letters into a birch tree with a stone and grinning as they laughed,” and criticized them, saying, “What, are they trying to make their love last a thousand years?”

Responses criticizing the damage to the trees continued to appear on the post and Hwadam Forest’s official social media accounts, including, “Why don’t they carve it into each other’s bodies instead?” “Go home and write it in a notebook,” “They made this forest to protect trees, so what are they doing?” and “If there are CCTV cameras, please check the footage and catch them.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.