A Gayasan nature center is teaching visitors the sounds of the forest
At the park's Seongju nature center, a fall program sends visitors along an 800-meter trail to match forest sounds, then asks them to lie still and pick the calls apart.
Read the original
The reporting lives at The Korea Herald. Our summary is checked against it, and we link it on every story.
The Gayasan National Park Nature Center in Seongju, North Gyeongsang, is running a fall listening program called Forest Sound Demon Hunters. The Korea Herald reported on October 3, 2026, that the session starts with recordings of forest birds, then a mission at four spots along an 800-meter trail. It ends back in the hall, where visitors lie still with the windows open and try to pick out cricket, bird, and cicada sounds. Nature interpreter Shin Mi-yeon described fireflies that come out in the evening. The Herald also described Mongolian oaks and the acorn weevils that use them.
The park's flagship species include the leopard cat and the snow primrose. The Seongju center is one of 10 nature centers run by the Korea National Park Service. The article is a guide to a program visitors can join this fall. It does not report how many people have taken part, and it does not measure whether the listening changes what they notice later.
For the classroom
Gayasan National Park has a nature center in Seongju, South Korea. This fall it is running a program called Forest Sound Demon Hunters. Visitors listen to recordings of forest birds, walk an 800-meter trail, and try to match sounds at four spots. At the end they lie still and pick out cricket, bird, and cicada calls. The Korea Herald described evening fireflies, Mongolian oaks, and acorn weevils. Better-known species here include the leopard cat and the snow primrose. The center is one of 10 run by Korea's national parks. The article describes a program people can join. It does not say how many have signed up.
- What sounds might you hear if you lay still in a forest?
- Why would a park ask visitors to listen before they walk?
- What is one animal and one plant this park is known for?
For a teacher to read with a class. Print the story of the day · All classroom stories
More good news
Other stories in the same neighborhood of kindness.
AnimalsA loggerhead sea turtle returned to the Pacific after seven years of care
The turtle stranded on Jeju in 2019, tangled in abandoned fishing gear. After seven surgeries it was set for release from a beach in Seogwipo, without a tracking tag.
Verified · The Korea Times
CommunityBurlington fourth graders are learning to swim during the school day
All six Burlington elementary schools now send fourth graders to the YMCA twice a week, and children who could not swim are passing deep-end tests.
Verified · WCAX
CommunityA $100 million gift moves North Carolina's first standalone children's hospital forward
The Duke Endowment's grant backs a planned 500-bed children's campus in Apex, so fewer sick kids have to leave the state for care. The hospital is not built yet.
Verified · WRAL