Ardent fans of legendary K-pop musician Seo Taiji are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the singer’s debut by naming a forest after him.

Seo Taiji Mania, Seo’s fan club, announced on Tuesday that they are creating “Seotaiji Forest” in Brazil’s Guapi Assu rainforest. They signed an MOU last year with World Land Trust, a British environmental organization which conducts tree-planting projects, about the forest creation and conservation.

“The documentary ‘Tears of the Amazon’ came as a great shock at the time, and also reminded us of Seo Taiji’s eco project. So we decided to initiate the long-term Seotaiji Forest project,” said a representative of the fan club in a statement, adding that only 7 percent of Guapi Assu’s forest is preserved and many animals and plants there are endangered. 

The fans organized a team in 2010 for the ambitious project and raised funds by hosting the Seo Taiji Forest sketch contest and auctioning Seo Taiji dolls. The fundraising ended on Dec. 31, with about 39 million won collected, significantly more than their goal of 20 million won. The forest will open to the public on March 21.

“The forest was planned to be slightly larger than 5 hectares but will be expanded as we raised more funds than expected. We hope that this unprecedented event brings attention to endangered rainforests,” said the representative.

The fan club has been known for throwing large-scale events for their star. The fans released a special album containing all of his songs and some of his undisclosed video clips for the 15th anniversary of his debut and held a concert on the 10th anniversary.

Seo’s agency has not yet announced any special event planned for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the singer’s debut, nor hinted at his comeback.

Debuted in April 1992, as the leader of the group Seo Taiji & Boys, Seo ruled the Korean pop world with a string of hit songs including “Nan Arayo (I Know)” and “Come Back Home.”

He shocked the public last year with a divorce suit involving actress E Ji-ah. The couple’s marriage had been kept secret since they were wed in 1997.

By Park Min-young  (claire@heraldcorp.com)