Campaign for National Tree Planting (1975)

Today's posting features four se-tenant stamps issued in 1975 to promote the campaign for national tree planting in South Korea. These four stamps attached together provide a nice panoramic nature scene that is pretty attractive in my opinion. I have seen these stamps when detached from one another and a bit of their beauty is lost when not viewed together and seen in context with one another. Here are some of the stamp particulars regarding this issue:

• Date of Issue: 20 March 1975
• Scott Catalogue #: 954a, 954b, 954c, 954d
• Korea Postage stamp Catalogue #: C661, C662, C663, C664
• Quantity Produced: 1,250,000

At the time of issue the South Korean Ministry of Communications offered the below statement to mark the campaign for national tree planting (as listed on the Korea Stamp Society website):

The total area of forests in our country amounts to 6,641,000 chungbo, or 16,600,000 aces, accounting for as much as 67 percent of the whole territory of Korea. The climate and other natural features, which are suitable for forestation, provide us with an ideal opportunity to make Korea a prosperous forestry state. 

In reality, however, Korea depends on imports form overseas to meet most of the domestic demand for timber. In order to bequeath green forests to our posterity, the government established in 1973 a 10-year forestation plan, under which all the people of the county are to plant 10 kinds of seeding, including those for fuel and fruits and fast-growing and slow-growing ones, on a yearly, step-by-step basis. 

As we did last year, we have again designated the period form March 21 through April 20 as the National tree planting period to have all our people take part in the nationwide campaign by planting, and closely attending to, trees for the eventual realization of our dream of green forests.
Hoping that the 10-year forestation plan will be successfully implemented through the combined effort of both the government and people, the Ministry of Communications is issuing this special Stamp in commemoration of the second National tree planting campaign. 

In South Korea today, the country still celebrates and promotes tree planting in what is known as National Arbor Day (식목일). National Arbor Day falls on April 5th and is a day where people plant tree seedlings throughout the country. In the United States Arbor Day is typically celebrated the last Friday in April and is marked similarly by the planting of tree seedlings. As a child growing up in Los Angeles I can remember taking field trips to the Tree People and receiving a little pine seedling to take home and plant. I'm not sure how our schools in the U.S. mark Arbor Day today...truthfully I completely forgot we had an Arbor Day until looking at these South Korean stamps a bit closer and reading about the background of these stamps. I live in a fairly rural part of Central Virginia and one of the most beautiful sights are the trees in the fall. Absolutely stunning sight.

For the hardcore arborists out there or those who like me don't know much about Arbor Day and how it is marked in South Korea...here is a link to an article from last year's National Arbor Day: http://www.korea.net/news.do?mode=detail&guid=45440

Until next time...

v/r
Beezer