◀ again ▶
There are many people hiking in the fall.
Can I collect the mushrooms I found when I went to the mountains?
If you collect it without permission, you could be subject to criminal penalties.
This was reported by reporter Lee Seung-yeon.
◀ Report ▶
A national forest area in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do.
A man with a blue bag goes down the road near the mountain.
The forest service crackdown squad opened the man’s bag.
Pines, neungyi and various freshly picked wild mushrooms come out.
[불법 임산물 채취꾼]
“I went hiking and came back, and I just picked up something by the side of the road.”
However, there are no hiking trails in this national forest area.
Another man involved in the repression.
They say they came for a hike, but the backpack is loaded with forest products like hazelnuts and shiitake mushrooms.
[산림청 특별사법경찰]
(I don’t think it has to do with hazelnuts …)
“No, it is illegal to harvest without permission in the national forest.”
In autumn, when forest products abound, cars line up on the side of the road near the tunnel.
Most of the cars are parked by foragers looking for places where mushrooms abound.
[산림청 특별사법경찰]
“It is a vehicle that came to drive me last Thursday and I intend to pay a fine if it comes back today and is cracked down today.”
As illegal miners were rampant, villagers even built a place to monitor it.
[조현숙/화천군 방천1리 이장]
“We take turns protecting, but if we don’t come here, we’ll come to the mountain. If we get there, we don’t know. We can’t take it.”
If you harvest forest products from national or private forests without authorization, you could be punished with imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 50 million won.
I’m Lee Seung-yeon of MBC News.
Choi Jeong-hyeon (Chuncheon) video coverage
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