Future Forest

Future Forest (Korean: 미래숲) is a South Korean non-profit environmental organization founded in 2001 under the leadership of Kwon Byung-hyun, a former South Korean ambassador to China who played a key role in establishing diplomatic relations between South Korea and China. The organization was established as a corporate association (사단법인) with the mission of combating desertification and yellow dust in Northeast Asia, and supporting forest restoration in North Korea. Its work focuses on planting trees in the Kubuqi Desert in Inner Mongolia, China, which is a major source of yellow dust affecting the Korean Peninsula. Future Forest operates several flagship programs, including the Green Corps volunteer initiative, which has mobilized thousands of volunteers and planted millions of trees. The organization has also launched the "Billion Trees in Desert" campaign in partnership with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the All-China Youth Federation. Its "Green Wall" project, a 16 km long and 0.6 km wide windbreak forest across the Kubuqi Desert, was completed over five years at a cost of approximately 7 billion Korean won, funded through matching funds from Future Forest and Chinese partners. Future Forest has gained international recognition for its environmental diplomacy. It was the first South Korean organization to obtain observer status with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2008 and with the UNFCCC in 2009. In 2010, its founder Kwon Byung-hyun was appointed as the inaugural UNCCD Sustainable Land Management Champion. The organization has received numerous awards, including the Presidential Commendation in 2016 and the Environment Award from the Ministry of Environment and Chosun Ilbo. It continues to operate youth exchange programs and environmental education initiatives, with its headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

Future Forest was founded on April 13, 2001, as the Korea-China Cultural Youth Association Future Forest (사단법인 한중문화청소년협회 미래숲), under the leadership of Kwon Byung-hyun, a former South Korean ambassador to China who was instrumental in the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China in 1992. The organization was created to address desertification and yellow dust issues affecting Northeast Asia, and to promote youth exchange between South Korea and China. In its early years, Future Forest focused on youth exchange programs, starting with Korea-China youth exchanges in 2001 that expanded to include leaders of 56 ethnic minority groups in China. In 2007, the organization invited a Chinese youth delegation led by then-Premier Wen Jiabao, and in 2008, it organized the visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao to South Korea and a tree-planting event at Seoul Forest. A major milestone came in 2008 when Future Forest obtained observer status with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the first South Korean organization to do so. In 2009, it gained observer status with the UNFCCC and was accredited by the convention. That same year, on May 15, 2009, Future Forest, in partnership with the UNCCD and the All-China Youth Federation, launched the "Billion Trees in Desert" campaign in the Kubuqi Desert, with the first tree planted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. In 2010, Kwon Byung-hyun was appointed as the inaugural UNCCD Sustainable Land Management Champion and Greening Ambassador. Future Forest was also selected as one of 15 organizations worldwide contributing to the UN Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification (UNDDD). The organization presented its desertification prevention case at the UN Pavilion during the 2010 Shanghai Expo. The "Green Wall" project, a 16 km long and 0.6 km wide windbreak forest across the Kubuqi Desert, was a major undertaking. Completed over five years at a cost of approximately 7 billion Korean won, it was funded through matching funds from Future Forest and Chinese partners. The project aimed to block the eastward movement of the desert and reduce yellow dust affecting the Korean Peninsula. Future Forest has received numerous awards and recognitions. In 2014, Kwon Byung-hyun received the Chinese government's Friendship Award. In 2015, the organization was selected for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' public diplomacy cooperation project, and Kwon was named an "International Friend of Chinese Ecological Heroes" by the Communist Youth League and State Forestry Administration. In 2016, Future Forest received a Presidential Commendation for contributions to national social development through forest resource creation, and the Environment Award from the Ministry of Environment and Chosun Ilbo. In 2019, it was appointed as UNCCD Land Ambassador and organized the Global CSO Alliance for desertification prevention. The organization continues its work today, with recent activities including participation in UNCCD COP17 in Mongolia in 2025 and the resumption of its Green Corps volunteer program after a hiatus due to COVID-19. Its headquarters, originally located in Insadong near embassies and international organizations, has moved to Muak-dong in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

• Founded as Korea-China Cultural Youth Association Future Forest

• Obtained observer status with UNEP, first in South Korea

• Obtained observer status with UNFCCC and accreditation

• Kwon Byung-hyun appointed inaugural UNCCD Sustainable Land Management Champion

• Appointed UNCCD Drylands Ambassador

• Kwon Byung-hyun received Chinese government Friendship Award

• Selected for Ministry of Foreign Affairs public diplomacy cooperation project

• Received Presidential Commendation

• Received Environment Award from Ministry of Environment and Chosun Ilbo

• Held Green Core Exhibition at UN Headquarters in New York

• Held Green Core Exhibition for Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

• Appointed UNCCD Land Ambassador

• Organized Global CSO Alliance for desertification prevention

• China Headquarters Director received Forest Service Director's Award

Non-profit environmental organization focused on desertification prevention and youth leadership in Northeast Asia

1. 1Future Forest Official Websitefutureforest.org
2. 2Future Forest Historyfutureforest.org
3. 3Future Forest - Destroyed Landfutureforest.org
4. 4Future Forest - Save the Earthfutureforest.org
5. 5Wikidata - Future Forestwikidata.org
6. 6Wikipedia (Korean) - 미래숲ko.wikipedia.org