If you visit Taechon-ri in Rinsan County, North Hwanghae Province, you can see mountains covered with pine-nut, chestnut, Changsong larch and other trees.

The dense forests produce large quantities of wild fruits and timber every year to greatly contribute to the economic life of the county as well as the ri. Such a success is unthinkable apart from the efforts of the late Merited Forest Ranger Kim Tok Bae.

There is a reason why he became a forest ranger after being at the post of national defence for decades.

When he returned home after his demob, he saw mountains denuded of trees. Grieving over that, he thought that he could never look away from the mountains of his native village.

He made up his mind to devote his whole life to greening those mountains.

After being appointed as a forest ranger, he did everything vigorously and on a large scale as he had done during his military service.

He walked a dozen kilometres a day in the daytime to learn about forests and topography in his charge and acquired the knowledge of forestry, ranging from the production of tree saplings to afforestation and prevention of blights at night.

After building a several-hectare tree nursery, he pushed ahead with afforestation with the saplings produced there.

In those days, the mountains that had once been naked grew greener and became habitats of different species of birds and a large amount of wild fruits could be collected every year.

But he never rested on his laurels. His cherished desire was to make all the mountains “gold mountains”. He even travelled a long distance to get a sapling of high economic value.

He was awarded the title of Merited Forest Ranger in 2018.

“It is impossible to grow forests without patriotic mind. Afforestation does not produce good results in an instant, but requires a long period of time to bring benefits. As he had a deep affection for the forests and felt pride in his job, he could achieve such a good success,” said Han Hong Chol, manager of the Rinsan County Forestry Management Station.

Regrettably, however, he passed away all of a sudden.

“Thick forests are like his own flesh. I should succeed to his work which is associated with his sweats, I thought,” said his wife Choe Nam Ok.

Choe became a forest ranger in place of her husband though she was a lecturer.

It was not an easy job for a woman to travel a dozen kilometres through steep mountains every day.

Although she has a family to support, she spends most of her life in out-of-the-way mountains. She makes the rounds of thick forests in the morning and tends saplings in the tree nursery in the afternoon.

“Nothing is difficult to a willing heart,” she said. “You cannot keep planting forests in lonely mountains only with the sense of duty. The awareness that every tree is a precious asset to be handed down through generations and that I am responsible for them make me continue this way.”