▲ Photo by Able Team

[This article is written by a JDC Junior Journalist. The JDC Junior Journalist program is an educational project sponsored by Jeju Free International City Development Corporation (JDC). JDC Junior Journalist articles are only briefly edited by mentors before publishing.]

The Saryeoni Forest is a well - known place for hikers. It is comfortable to walk because the path is flat. In addition there are innumerous amounts of trees that provide fresh air while walking.
Today, our JDC Junior Journalist team had its second field trip to Saryeoni Forest. Before the trip, I thought it would be very hard to get to know my team members but they were very kind to me. This encouraged me and helped me to interview people four different times.

As the interviews proceeded, I was able to learn how to conduct an interview with strangrers. All of my team members were very shy and had difficulty asking strangrers questions during our interviews. Our teacher, Ms. Wanda, helped us feel more comfortable about approaching tourists and interviewing them.

During the interviews, I was surprised to hear that most tourists had complaints about dirty restrooms and lack of benches. Kang Young Sim from Seoul said, “The forest is very impressive, but more improvements like clean bathroom and enough parking space should be made to attract more tourists.” Since most people we interviewed came from the mainland, it was good to hear what they thought about the forest in the aspects of the advantages and disadvantages of Saryeoni Forest.

Needless to say, the forest needs cleaner restrooms not only at the entrance but also along the path. Hopefully, tourists will treat the bathrooms as they would their own and keep them clean. There should be more benches along the path for tourists to rest as needed during their walk. Overall, it was a very good experience for me and I enjoyed having the opportunity to interview many tourists. I hope that we can more fun next time.