As the Winter approaches, a community organization in South Korea called Cheolsan 2-dong Community Service Center has embarked on a project to share some love and warmth with the trees. This started as a creative idea but resulted in a unique cultural activity. People have started to put colourful sweaters on trees as winters approach.
The organizers had planned to clothe some 100 street trees located near the water fountains in Hyunchung Park - knitting them by September and then using them to clothe the trees by October. Along with the idea of bringing warmth to the trees during winter, this idea creates a very unique art space bringing joy to people passing by, especially in the midst of the gloomy times caused by the pandemic.
For the last two years, the Anyang’s Dongan District has been clothing the trees with wool for two reason - the protection of the environment by protecting the trees and also creating a visual extravaganza for visitors coming to the area for sightseeing in the winter. Some 240 trees were gifted with clothes made of wool this year, knitted by volunteers.
The sweaters that people put on trees are differently themed. Some are themed as Disney characters, while others are themed as flowers, and things related to nature. The reason why this concept was started was that putting clothes for trees is considered an effective method against pests. In winter, bugs often enter warm places on the trunk to shelter. So when people take off the sweater, they can find worms and kill them, helping the plant to live longer.
This initiative is also considered a thoughtful activity towards creating jobs for people in need as many sweaters are also ordered from centres and NGOs for disabled and elderly people. A lot of ordinary residents and people of the country are coming together in support of this movement and knitting sweaters for trees.
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