Pedestrian walk under nets designed to collect ginkgo nuts, installed by the Suwon city government in Gyeonggi Province, Sept. 24. Yonhap

Ginkgo trees have long been appreciated by Koreans. Representing hope, peace, vitality and love, they are often found near schools, parks and forests. Thanks to their vibrant colors and resilience to pollution, they have also been chosen to line city streets.

However, the strong odor of ginkgo nuts has become a source of criticism in urban areas. City streets are frequently littered with cracked nuts, which have an unpleasant smell. Those who step on them or handle them find the pungent smell lingers on their skin or shoes.

"I walk carefully when I see ginkgo nuts because I don't want the bad smell on me," a Seoul resident told a local newspaper.

Cyclists and pedestrians sometimes put themselves at risk by trying to avoid the nuts.

In response, local governments roll up their sleeves to deal with the issue every autumn.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government, for example, actively collects the nuts from the 25,127 ginkgo trees it oversees that bear nuts — which only female trees produce. Special vehicles and machines are used for collection, and large nets are installed around the trees.

Daegu, a city in southeastern Korea, and Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, have also followed suit.

The collected nuts are usually donated instead of being discarded, as they are known for their nutritional and medicinal properties. However, there is less demand these days.

"People are more reluctant to take them so much this year because the nuts grow in polluted environments, and people are worried about possible negative impacts on their health," a Seoul city official told a media outlet.

Some local governments have taken additional measures. Gangbuk District of northeastern Seoul replaced over 1,000 female ginkgo trees with male trees last year. Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, has a plan to uproot 233 female ginkgo trees and plant male ones this year.

Cleanup crews work to collect ginkgo nuts with the help of an excavator in Seoul, Sept. 23. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government