Sejahtera Forest RCE Tongyeong
Tongyeong’s coastal sustainability-education campus, combining a forest, teaching center, ecological facilities, gardens and community programs under the city’s RCE network
Environmental education, school field programs, resident learning, youth projects, sustainability training, international RCE exchange and informal use of the forest grounds
A coastal education campus with Sejahtera Center, forest paths, Green Life facilities, gardens, wetland and open lawn
Sejahtera Forest is the working campus of RCE Tongyeong. Schools, residents and visiting RCE groups use its forest, gardens, wetland and teaching buildings as part of sustainability education
Character
One of Sejahtera Forest’s long-running school programs moves third-graders from sustainable-building and daily-life exercises inside the center to a forest walk and a lesson on marine pollution. Forest paths, gardens, wetland and coast are part of the classroom
RCE stands for Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development. Tongyeong joined the international RCE network in 2005, and Sejahtera became its dedicated campus a decade later. Schools, residents, teachers, researchers and international participants all use the site
Sejahtera Center, the Green Life Activity Center, garden, wetland and open lawn give those programs different settings across the campus instead of concentrating everything inside one building
The experience
Programs range from school fieldwork and resident gardens to youth projects, training and international exchange. The same grounds may be used for a class or community program at one time and as ordinary public green space at another
The school program shows how the campus is meant to work: indoor exercises introduce sustainable buildings and daily habits, the forest walk shifts attention to local plants and animals, and the coastal lesson turns marine pollution into a nearby environmental problem rather than an abstract topic
History
Tongyeong was designated a Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development in 2005. The designation linked local schools, civic groups and government work to the wider international RCE network
Sejahtera Forest opened in May 2015 as a permanent base for that work. It later received ecological-environmental learning certification in 2018 and was designated a regional environmental education center by Gyeongsangnam-do in 2020
Tongyeong hosted the 15th Asia-Pacific RCE Conference in 2023. RCE Tongyeong continues to run school and citizen education alongside fellowships and cross-border exchange
Before you go
The forest paths and outdoor grounds are open without program enrollment. Organized outdoor use by groups of 20 or more for an hour or longer requires advance inquiry, and individual education programs may have their own registration rules
From Tongyeong Bus Terminal, the foundation recommends a taxi as the simplest option. By public transport, transfer at Bukshin Market to bus 456 and walk about five minutes from Seonchon Village
- Hours
- Forest grounds are open 24 hours; Sejahtera Center operates 09:00–18:00
- Admission
- General entry is free; separate fees may apply to facilities or programs
- Access
- Organized outdoor use by groups of 20 or more for one hour or longer requires advance inquiry; individual education programs may have their own registration rules
- Transit
- From Tongyeong Bus Terminal, RCE Tongyeong recommends a taxi as the simplest option. By bus, transfer at Bukshin Market to route 456 and walk about five minutes from Seonchon Village