“While I was thinking about how to sell shiitake mushrooms to young people of my age, I came up with the idea that it might work to turn them into an ‘everyday meal kit’ that can be eaten easily.”

Now in his ninth year as a “returnee to mountain villages” in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, 37-year-old Kim Yun-young runs a shiitake mushroom cultivation complex in the mountains. After opening a noodle restaurant serving kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) with shiitake mushrooms, Kim launched his own brand to produce and sell shiitake kalguksu kits. He also developed a functional food product called “shiitake noodles” and obtained a patent for it. Kim’s kalguksu kit reduces the distinctive aroma of shiitake mushrooms while preserving nutrition and health benefits, making it popular among parents with young children. His annual sales have exceeded KRW 250 million.

Kim, a “sea person” who used to work in the shipbuilding industry in his hometown of Busan, moved into the mountains based on the assessment that “there is a future in healthy foods that come from the forest.” On the 9th, he said, “Looking back, it seems I was reckless because I was young,” and added, “It was difficult, but it was effective not to stop at primary production and instead differentiate by expanding into processing and commercialization.”

In the past, many young people left the mountains for cities, but recently, as interest in forests and natural forest products has grown, more people like Kim are “returning to mountain villages” and starting forest-based businesses. As business areas expand to include not only processed foods made from forest products but also forest experience tourism, forest healing programs, crafts and upcycling products using timber, and forest education content, the range of fields that young people can pursue has also diversified.

In the “Youth Forest Impact Start-up Idea Challenge” held by the Korea Forest Service last year to discover young entrepreneurs, 28 people applied even after a preliminary screening process. Among them, four teams were selected and received support for prototype production costs and more. On the 25th of last month, 100 young forestry workers gathered to launch the Korea Federation of Young Foresters.

As interest among younger generations grows, the forest industry is also broadening its base. According to the Korea Forest Service, the number of forest business corporations increased from 2,666 in 2023 to 3,108 last year, while the number of businesses related to forest technology services such as forest resource surveys and carbon absorption analysis rose from 1,453 to 1,675. Specialized sectors such as “tree hospitals” also increased from 771 to 942. There is an assessment that entry opportunities have expanded as the industry has grown beyond primary, production-focused sectors into ones combining processing, experiences, and services. Kim Jae-hyun, a professor in the Department of Forest Landscape Architecture at Konkuk University, said, “The government should support the creation of systems and markets so that new business models can emerge in forestry by combining it with ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies,” adding, “If such an ecosystem is established, the influx of young people will increase further.”

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