Tree Planet is a South Korean social venture that plants real forests through a smartphone game. In September 2010, Kim Hyung-soo, Jung Min-chul and Kim Jae-hyun conceived it during their military service, out of a conviction that 'media can raise awareness, but does not itself directly achieve anything.' When a user raises a virtual sapling in a free game by watering and fertilizing it, real trees are planted on real land in Mongolia, Korea, Sudan and elsewhere, funded by advertising and corporate sponsorship. The name, location, photos and growth updates of the planted tree are sent to the user, like a foster-parent scheme. As of 2019 it had planted 190 forests in 12 countries, about 800,000 trees cumulatively. In 'Star's Forest,' begun in 2012, fans of K-pop idols jointly raise virtual trees, and 32 forests—for SHINee, Girls' Generation and others—have come into being for real. Partnering with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UNICEF and World Vision, it is also growing a forest to block fine dust at the Incheon landfill where the waste of the Seoul area's 25 million people gathers. It placed third at UC Berkeley's social-venture competition.
●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
Tree Planet: Planting real forests through a smartphone game. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q2; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
One person’s story (N1)
+ before → after
During military service, the founders saw a fellow soldier absorbed in a farming simulation game and got the idea of 'having people plant trees through a game.' When a user raises a virtual sapling, one tree is planted on real land, and its name, location, photos and growth updates arrive as if fostering it. At Incheon, a forest to block fine dust is being grown at the landfill where the waste of the Seoul area's 25 million people gathers.
Source nature: Philstar / Dong-A Ilbo（Earth Beats） / P2 Independent media. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- Tree Planet has received several social-innovation awards and placed third at the international Global Social Venture Competition held at UC Berkeley. Partnering with UNCCD, UNICEF and World Vision, the planting is carried out on the ground by NGOs and volunteers.P1 Independent evaluation (international competition / UN partnership) / The Next Web / World Agroforestry
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
- L
- i
- m
- i
- t
- s
- o
- f
- i
- n
- d
- e
- p
- e
- n
- d
- e
- n
- t
- l
- y
- v
- e
- r
- i
- f
- i
- e
- d
- d
- a
- t
- a
- o
- n
- t
- h
- e
- s
- u
- r
- v
- i
- v
- a
- l
- r
- a
- t
- e
- ,
- l
- o
- n
- g
- -
- t
- e
- r
- m
- s
- u
- r
- v
- i
- v
- a
- l
- a
- n
- d
- q
- u
- a
- l
- i
- t
- y
- o
- f
- t
- h
- e
- p
- l
- a
- n
- t
- e
- d
- t
- r
- e
- e
- s
- ;
- d
- e
- p
- e
- n
- d
- e
- n
- c
- e
- o
- n
- t
- h
- e
- c
- o
- r
- p
- o
- r
- a
- t
- e
- -
- s
- p
- o
- n
- s
- o
- r
- s
- h
- i
- p
- a
- n
- d
- a
- d
- v
- e
- r
- t
- i
- s
- i
- n
- g
- m
- o
- d
- e
- l
- .
- A goal of 'giving 100 million people the experience of growing a tree'; business diversification such as companion trees.
A second look
The core plus is reforestation and forest restoration, and citizens' environmental participation through a game (Nature, People), corroborated by UNCCD/UNICEF partnerships and third place at UC Berkeley's GSVC. On the other hand, data independently verifying the survival rate, long-term survival and quality of planted forests is limited, and dependence on the corporate-sponsorship model is a watch point.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q2 | Back to top