Abandon  railroads  in  Cheolwon  that  used  to  guide  trains  to  North  Korea  (Photo:  the  Author)  

The Korean Demilitarized Zone The Gift that War Gave Us Welles Award Summer Research Project The Lawrenceville School September 29, 2010 JeongWoo Ha

 

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“Ironically, the only threat to its survival is peace.” - BBC News

 

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Preface Having grown up and lived in Seoul for most of my short life, there are two things I have never quite come to fully appreciate: natural landscape, and the proximity of war. The sprawl of Seoul’s dense, efficient city-blocks have hid the former from my view, and the normalcy of South-North

Korea

tension

has

deadened my sensitivity, as well as that of many young Koreans, to the true risk of the latter. The

DMZ

contains

the

heightened extreme of both. The epicenter of the world’s most heavily guarded

border

guards

one

of Everything  else  is  green  besides  the  fences  inside  the  DMZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

  Korea’s greatest, if not the greatest, natural treasure: a virtually pristine strip of ecological

environment untouched by human development due to the rules of the DMZ. Among the wildlife inside the DMZ are Asiatic black bears, leopards, lynxes, sheep and possibly tigers; hundreds of bird species, including black-faced spoonbills, Japanese cranes, red-crowned and white-naped cranes, eagles, and black vultures, many of which are endangered; and eighty fish species. The wildlife in the DMZ represents 67% of Korea’s fauna. And yet it is also undoubtedly the most dangerous ground in all of Korea. Nearly every year, military personnel or even civilian visitors are imprisoned or die due to miscommunication between the two sides or a failure to maintain the standing rules of the DMZ. The recent incidents of the Cheonhan sinking and artillery shelling of Yeon-pyong Island have arrested the development of peace accords ad bilateral, multilateral talks, and South Korean civilians are now  

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increasingly wary of coming closer to a warring country that has repeatedly, clearly, and with action demonstrated its intentions. The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a buffer zone between North and South Korea, and it is the densest collection of both ecological abundance and human tension.

The

intense

juxtaposition

of

these

two

phenomenons, just 40 kilometers from Seoul but so far removed from the public consciousness, is the subject of my study. In the summer of 2010, I embarked on a research project funded by the Welles Award of the Lawrenceville School to study the DMZ, its history, how A   South   Korean   military   police   in   the   Joint   Security  it Area  (Photo  taken  from  a  museum)  

has changed since its creation, and what its future

should be. To achieve my goal, I researched scholarly articles, books, newspaper and magazine articles, documentaries, and photo exhibitions that spoke to preservation in the DMZ. I studied in the Museum of the Korean War to understand the Korean War more deeply and participated in a group called the DMZ Ecology Lab to research the ecosystem and the wildlife in the DMZ. Furthermore, I independently worked with members of the DMZ Forum, an international group that is concerned with the DMZ and its natural preservation. Most important, I personally went inside the DMZ to investigate the ecosystem. During my time in the DMZ, I experienced its tense atmosphere and observed amazing beauty of nature inside. I took photographs, recorded videos, and also interviewed researchers and tour guides, as well as joined a youth camp to discuss the future of the DMZ.

 

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I fully acknowledge that given my relative lack of professional experience in this field, there may be very little in terms of new information I may contribute, but through the amalgation of extensive research and direct site visits, I hope to adequately capture the simultaneous irony and promise of the DMZ.

Goal and Structure The structure of this paper is as follows: 1) A brief primer on the history of the DMZ, which also includes several notes about the Korean War 2) An explanation of the DMZ as an ecological environment, including notes about its importance as a safekeeper of rare biological diversity 3) The author’s site visits to the various regions of the DMZ 4) An investigation of the threats to the biological wildlife of the DMZ 5) An exploration of various policy initiatives aimed at preserving the wildlife of the DMZ 6) A brief look at the DMZ Youth Forum

 

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A History of the DMZ The Creation of the DMZ The history of the DMZ begins on August 15, 1945, when Korea, which had till then been officially recognized as a colony of the Japanese Empire, gained political independence and received recognition as an independent state. Following the surrender of Japan to the joint Allied Forces, the military occupation of Korea thus commenced as a joint project between the US and Soviet Military. The agreed temporary boundary was the 38th parallel, which roughly divided the Korean peninsula into half, with Soviet troops occupying the North and US troops occupying the South. The 38th parallel was chosen not with an eye toward maintaining a boundary between two warring nations but rather in the context of global territory negotiations between the USSR and trans-Atlantic Young  South  Korean  refugees  during  the  Korean   War  (Photo  from  internet)    

allied forces.

Colonel Dean Rusk and Colonel Charles H. Bonesteel III of the US Commission chose the 38th parallel as the dividing line for several reasons, first of which was that the US Korean Zone of Occupation had to have a minimum of two ports. Further explaining why the occupation zone demarcation was positioned at the 38th parallel, Rusk noted, "even though it was further north than could be realistically reached by US forces, in the event of Soviet disagreement ... we felt it important to include the capital of Korea in the area of responsibility of American troops", especially when "faced with the scarcity of US forces immediately available, and time and space factors, which would make it difficult to reach very far north, before Soviet troops could enter

 

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the area." The USSR, which had commenced its declaration of war against Japan by entering Manchuria on August 9, 1945, was actually in position to take control of the entire Korean peninsula. The US at the time had yet to even establish significant military beachheads on the Korean peninsula or Japan at the time. But concerned with maximizing their leverage on the negotiation of occupation zones in Eastern Europe, the Soviets acquiesced to the demarcation line proposed by the US to improve their negotiating position. Though Korea is marginally adjacent with the Soviet border, Moscow’s primary concern was the creation of safe buzzer zones to guard its political and social center, the western portion of Russia. Originally conceived of as a joint nation-building and peacekeeping operation between the two forces, the Korean project morphed significantly under the pressure of rising tensions post-WWII between the US and USSR. North Korea and South Korea quickly adopted the economic ideologies of their “trustee” nations. North Korea established a communist government while the South founded a democratic government and pursued a market economy. War broke out four years later: at 4 a.m. on June

25,

1950,

North

Korea,

heavily

supported by the Soviet Union, invaded the South across the 38thparallel without a declaration of war. The North quickly moved south, and in three

th

Military  trucks  crossing  38  parallel  in  Korea  (Photo  from  internet)  

days, the North Korean armies seized Seoul, the capital of the South. Within a few weeks, the North had conquered most of the South except a small part in the southeast and the city of Pusan.  

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Concerned about the spread of communism, the United States and UN decided to participate in the war to help South Korea. The participation of the UN triggered China’s entrance into the war, and the Korean War became a global war – it was not simply about territory, but also about ideologies. After three years of bloody war, both parties signed an armistice on July 27, 1953. There were over 1.5 million fatalities and 2.2 billion US dollars of property damage. In the Armistice Agreement July 27, 1953, the two warring parties agreed to the DMZ as a functional buffer zone between the two sides. The new, agreed-upon line was called the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). From this line, the North and South each moved back their military forces 2,000 meters from the

MDL,

creating

the

4km-wide A  South  Korean  guard  post  in  the  DMZ  (Photo  from  a  museum)  

Demilitarized Zone. The MDL bifurcates the DMZ and maintains precisely the war front when the agreement was signed. The greatest irony of the DMZ is that it is far from a demilitarized zone at all – it is rather a precarious line dividing the heaviest concentration of military forces in the world. The North and South simply concentrated their military forces along the side to guard against and deter future aggressive actions by either party, with tanks, artillery, and guns aimed precisely at targets on the other side. The armistice stipulates the precise number and kind of military personnel and weapons that are allowed in the DMZ. Patrols by soldiers from both sides are allowed inside the DMZ, but only within their respective portion of the DMZ – they may not cross the official dividing line of the MDL, and doing so warrants lethal force and risks escalation of conflict.  

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The DMZ The DMZ is 250 kilometers (155 miles) long and four kilometers (2.4 miles) wide. It contains 907 square kilometers of land that neither North Korean nor South Korean forces can enter. It is the most fortified border on earth, with more than a million heavily armed soldiers facing each

A  map  of  the  Korean  DMZ  (Photo  from  internet)  

other. It is a place dotted with landmines, razor wire, and tank bunkers. The line two kilometers south of the MDL is called the Southern Limit Line (SLL). Below the SLL lies the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ)which has limited farming. The CCZ is about five to twenty kilometers wide (three to twelve miles), with its southern boundary marked by the Civilian Control Line (CCL). The DMZ and CCZ total have 2276 square kilometers, and paradoxically, despite being a war zone, they are one of the best preserved wildlife sanctuaries in Korea, hardly touched by humans for sixty years.

Conflict along the DMZ Conflicts due to North Korean hostilities killed over 500 South Korean soldiers and 50 U.S. soldiers along the DMZ between 1953 and 1999. Joint ROK-US forces have, until presently, also discovered that four tunnels crossing the DMZ have been dug by North Korea, the first of which was discovered on November 15, 1974. North Korea claims that the tunnels were mined for the purpose of extracting coal, yet no traces of coal exist in the tunnels that are through granite stone. It was also discovered that some of the tunnel walls were painted black, perhaps to give more credence to the claims of the North Korean military. It is fairly clear that the explicit  

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purpose of the tunnels is to serve as a military invasion route by North Korea, which would bypass the US-ROK defense network already established at the DMZ. Though the caves can suit the passage of an entire infantry division in one hour, tanks, vehicles, large artillery, or other machines of war are too large in their girth to fit in the tunnels. It should also be noted that the tunnels have become progressively more advanced, with the third tunnel, to prevent the stagnation of fluid in the tunnel, having been constructed to slope at an upward degree as it goes southward. Perhaps the most famous incident is the Axe murder incident. On August 18, 1976, an American officer at the DMZ was ordered to cut down a tree that was obstructing a view of Northern army forces. The tree was in the DMZ area, and North Korean troops then demanded that he stop. When he refused and kept with his mission, North Korean troops attacked and killed him and another associate

An  abandon  railroad  and  barbed-­‐wire  fences  inside  the  DMZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

using the same axe with which they were chopping the tree. The US and ROK forces responded with Operation Paul Bunyan. A larger, more heavily guarded crew was sent out to cut down the same tree that the killed officer was assigned to cut down, and a massive strike force of tanks, artillery, and even fighter jets were assembled to strike down any and advance in the event of North Korean resistance, which was expected. Though North Korean officials were warned in advance of the operation, resistance was expected. Yet the operation was executed without any hint of opposition from the North Korean forces, and the tension subsided.

 

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There have also been a number of more symbolic forms of conflict between the two sides at the DMZ. Both North and South Korea have peace villages that can be viewed from the other nation’s sides – these villages seem to serve more political purposes to project the image of their respective nation’s prosperity. Kijong-dong, the North Korean peace village, is composed of several brightly painted, concrete multistory buildings and apartments that feature the amenities of modern life, such as electricity, clean public spaces, and orderly streets. Yet close investigation from the southern side has revealed that the town is really more an Military  barricades  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

exhibition that does not boast any true residents. The buildings and their painting was   constructed so that the bright blue roofs and white sides of the buildings would be the most visible features of the town when observed from the South Korean side. Modern telescopic lenses reveal that the buildings are mere shells lacking window glass or even interior rooms, and the building lights are turned on and off at set times and the empty sidewalks swept by a crew of caretakers.

 

There has also been a contest in the DMZ dubbed the “flagpole war.” In the 1980s, a 98.4 m tall flagpole with a 130 kg South Korean flag was constructed in the South Korean peace village, Daeseong-dong, clearly demonstrating the Taegukki to the North Korean soldiers and residents. Not to be undone by their South Korean counterparts, the North responded in kind by building a 160 m with a 270 kg North Korean flag, which was at the time the largest flagpole in the world and an impressive feat.

 

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The Ecology of the DMZ The DMZ boasts of such unique biological diversity in the Korean peninsula because of the relative lack of natural preservation in South and North Korea. In the South, rapid development from a third-world country demolished by a civil war and with few natural resources to the 15th largest GDP has undoubtedly put a massive strain upon the environment. Though Korea’s current economy is largely predicated on a manufacturing and services economy that makes good use of its well-educated human resources, the southern region was traditionally the breadbasket of the Korean peninsula. Much of the arable land in the region has been devoted to farming, The  DMZ  is  home  for  wildlife  (Photo  from  a  museum)  

and South Korea faces a scarcity of available land given the huge boost in its population. Furthermore, the rise of South Korea as an industrial power has entailed an increase in pollution (most notably the near-toxic levels of pollution in the Han River, the major river that divides Seoul, several decades ago), which has had forced the migration or extinction of many fauna and animals. North Korea also most likely faces a similar situation, due to the mismanagement of their natural ecology by the government. In other words, the DMZ are an accidental treasure of the land’s biological diversity, an exception in the land that has experienced strain due to boosts in the economy and population. The DMZ is also a unique natural preserve insofar as it spans from the eastern to the western tip of the Korean peninsula, and as such, encompasses a variety of geography,

 

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topography, and climate. This allows a great diversity in landscape and the animal and plant species that inhabit it. In the CCZ, there are eleven inhabited and seventeen uninhabited islands in the middle of rivers. Many of these are near Gimpo on the west coast, where they attract birds during the winter. Among the wildlife inside the DMZ and the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ) in South Korea are Asiatic black bears, leopards, lynxes, sheep and possibly tigers; hundreds of bird species, including black-faced spoonbills, Japanese cranes, red-crowned and white-naped cranes, eagles, and black vultures, many of which are endangered; and eighty fish species. The wildlife in the DMZ represents 67% of Korea’s fauna. Additionally, hundreds of bird species migrate through the DMZ going to and from Mongolia, China, Russia, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines and Australia. Although the DMZ still symbolizes the atrocious history of the Korean War, it has become a peaceful sanctuary for many animals and plants. In the eastern portion of the DMZ is the A  peaceful  green  p lain  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

Taebaek mountain range, which is composed of some of the tallest mountains in Korea and also a very well preserved forest ecosystem. The northeastern portion of South Korea is most famous for being home to Soraksan, one of the most famous peaks in all of Korea, and also for housing very biodiverse forest-mountain habitats. Much of this area is forested wetlands, such as the Gamho lagoon wetlands. It also very well noted for serving as a habitat for several species of birds that are rare in the world, such as the red goral. They make use of the eastern coast of Korea as their flyway to and from their winter habitats. This area is also notable for the Yong Peatland, which is unique insofar as it is a highland wetland. There are several rare species which make their home here such as the Hanabusaya asiatica Nakai and the sundew plant.  

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The central section of the DMZ is a mix of forests and plains, serving as an ecological transition from the forested mountains of the east to the wetlands and lowlands of the west. It is an essential winter home for several species of birds, most notably many species of cranes and eagles that are already relatively scarce in Korea and the global environment. Cheolweon Plain is the largest and most visible home for these species, as the unique topography and climate of the plain prevents freezing from occurring even in winter and also providing generous wetland, lowland space for breeding. Other birds that make use of this precious, rare winter home are the whitenapped crane, red-crowned crane, hooded crane, and several species of ducks, which either escape the A  gold  frog  in  Doombung  inside  the  CCZ  ( Photo:  the  Author)  

harsh winter by roosting here or use it as a intermediate resting spot in route to their winter homes. Another notable geographical idiosyncrasy of is the volcanic crater dubbed the “Punch Bowl” by US troops for its appearance of a bowl-shaped indentation in the mountain. This is due to a volcanic explosion that occurred in the mountain range in the distant past. The rice fields in the surrounding area also serve the function of providing shelter, food, and a suitable habitat for birds and other species. This habitat is at particular risk for destruction to the increasing number of civilian economic development and government infrastructure development activities in the region. (p. 36, Kim ppt) The western portion of the DMZ harbors a wide diversity of bird species due to the pristine condition of its wetlands. The most notable area of wetlands are around Jangdan peninsula, Imjin River and Sacheon, where an estuary that feeds into the West Sea joins with the Imjim River and Han River. (p. 34 of Kim ppt). As many birds seasonally migrate along the  

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western coast due to its more favorable temperate climate and wetlands, this area is a critical resting and landing spot. It even functions as an essential winter home for many birds that make their habitat in these more aquatic environments. Some of these winter migratory birds are so rare and essential as to be named Korean national treasures, which includes the Brent Goose, Swan Goose, and Red-crowned Crane, which appear in countless art pieces and pottery treasured by the Korean people. Prior to the Korean War, this area was a prime farming area, and the abandoned wet farms have since then morphed into hospitable environments for these birds and many others. There are also a variety of other important wildlife species that find their home here, such as the Nannophya insect and Elaphe schrenckii reptile. (p. 34 of Kim ppt) The DMZ is also a functional ecosystem insofar as it regulates flooding and erosion in adjacent habitats as well. This is due to the fact that there are many intertidal habitats within the DMZ, such as salt marshes and mudflats, which serve as a buffer from the ocean tides to the coastal habitat. Due to the development of many salt marshes and mudflats

outside

of

the

DMZ

and

conversion into arable farmland or stable land for residence, this type of valuable

An  endangered  bird,  a  White-­‐Naped  Crane,  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  DMZ   Ecology  Research  Institute)     function is becoming increasingly rare. These wetlands

act as a natural water purifier that filters

any sediment that may flow through, cleansing the running water of any natural or manmade pollutants that often contaminate the water. This serves both an ecological and human function as well, since the water that runs through the wetlands may often drain into groundwater supplies of nearby residences.  

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The value of the DMZ should also be briefly noted beyond its ecological significance but also as a land valuable for its historical and recreational purposes. The DMZ encompasses much of the original border prior to the Korean War and also the de-factor border that was the outcome of the stalemate of the Korean War, and as such, possesses a great number of relics from the socalled “Forgotten War.” There are a number of train tracks and roads that illustrate the original arbitrariness of the line that was drawn between the northern and southern part of this peninsula, all marks of the fact that these incredibly disparate nations were once one and the same. The DMZ is already one of the most popular recreational sites in South Korea, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists annually to one of the many observation sites where one may catch a glimpse of the hermit nation that is North Korea. Yet an increasingly new attraction of the DMZ is eco-tourism, whereby visitors may trek along the southern side of the DMZ border. The ROK government recently opened this attraction in recognition of the growing demand for “green” activities of its citizens and also the vast natural reserve of the DMZ.

Going inside the CCZ The West Virtually all civilians are barred from entering the DMZ (as per the strict regulations stipulated in the creation of the DMZ, as well as the extreme dangers posed by the sides’ heavily alert military forces), and only a select number

Raining  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

of soldiers may visit the DMZ for the purpose of periodic patrol. Yet civilian visits are allowed  

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on a very carefully regulated and strictly scrutinized basis to the CCZ, and there are controlled instances of farming or industrial development that have occurred during times when NorthSouth relations have taken a turn for the amicable. In order to visit the CCZ and to study the DMZ better, I joined the DMZ Ecology Lab for the summer, a conference where select Korean high school students were invited, by the DMZ Forum, to conduct an ecology survey of the abundant wildlife in the DMZ. The DMZ Forum is one of the foremost non-government organizations involved with creating and sustaining discussion on the DMZ. Many other members were just like me, high school students who were interested in studying the ecosystem in the DMZ, as well as understanding the way in which the political nature of the DMZ created and makes complicated the fragile environmental diversity there. The first site we visited through the Ecology Lab was the western portion of the CCZ, in Jun 2010. As stated before, the westen portion of the DMZ is well-preserved wetlands with numerous ponds, creeks, and rivers that run into the Yellow Sea. One of the few wetlands in the Korean peninsula untouched by rice farming or development that has dominated Korean agriculture over the past 60 years, the western wetlands function as an invaluable winter home for many species of rare birds, especially cranes, whose populations have been run dangerously low due to constant destruction of their feeding and breeding grounds. Yet visiting the wetlands in the summer meant that most of these precious bird species had yet to make A  lotus  flower  in  a  pond  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

the annual migration down to these wetlands. June is the beginning of the monsoon season in Korea, and the first day of our visit  

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harkened the advent of the humidity and rain that would frequent our explorations throughout the summer. The sky was gloomy and the CCZ looked more ominous from outside than I had expected. It was not until I entered the CCZ that I came to recall that the place to which I was heading was unlike any other place in the world. The CCZ was quite different from what I had imagined. When most Koreans imagine the DMZ, it is most likely conceived of in its military and political aspect. The CCZ was very different than I had imagined. It was very calm and quiet inside. To be honest, the CCZ environment, upon a first glance to untrained eyes, seemed to exhibit few qualities that would distinguish it from the greenery rolling alongside many of Korea’s highways. It was my first time inside the CCZ, but it did not seem unfamiliar: it looked like anywhere else in Korea, but greener. For a while, I forgot that I was inside the CCZ. This place, only a few miles away from North Korea, is the most dangerous plot of land in the Korean peninsula. If the North Korean side had launched rockets or artillery, they would reach their destinations here almost instantly, leaving only a second or two of warning. Yet in the same way that the convalescing force of nature has grown over the land’s conspicuous scars and made a new, green life, we too soon forgot the feeling of fear and allowed a full appreciation of the landscape to sweep over us. The scene was filled with trees and birds silently enjoying the falling inaugural rain of the monsoon season. As we walked around in the pouring rain, I imagined the place in front of me sixty years ago when the DMZ was one of the fiercest battlefields in the Korean War. I imagined a horrific scene where people and the surrounding nature were destroyed in the rain. But the day I visited the CCZ, it stood as still as the trees inside it did, as if nothing had happened. It was just raining quietly, curing the pain of war.

 

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The deeper we went in, the greener the CCZ was. At one point, I saw a small water pond called a “doombung” nestled rather inconspicuously in the backdrop of small creeks and vivid wetlands. These “doombung” are small occurring ponds that were used by farmers in the past to help irrigate their crops. It was just a small one, but the lab leaders told me that these small ponds are full of life, functioning as an unexpected dwelling place for many species of freshwater fish, frogs, and birds. Upon closer inspection, I saw through the crystal transparency of the pond’s surface Trees  and  barbed-­‐wire  fence  coexist  inside  the  DMZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

many insects and fish that swum, completely   unaware of the possibility of war and violence that loomed only kilometers away. Instead of waiting to inspect the rare wildlife species, I decided to observe what was in front of me in the CCZ. Endangered species would not directly appear in front of us, unless we are extremely lucky, because they live somewhere people cannot affect them. Furthermore, the incredibly inhospitable and wet weather that day precluded our seeing more directly and comfortable many of the wildlife species that retreat underwater or further from the public view during such season.

The Center: The Punch Bowl

 

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After I visited the west coast with the Ecology Lab, I headed east toward the center of the CCZ. This area is frequently referred to as the Punch Bowl in Yanggu, located in the center of the Korean peninsula. It was the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the Korean War, and was named “the Punch

Bowl”

by

U.S.

soldiers

because it is surrounded by the mountains which make it look like a bowl. When it rains, the rain is trapped in the bowl which allows

The  Punch  Bowl  from  Eulji  GP  (Photo:  the  Author)  

scientists to analyze the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the area by studying the acid rain that is collected in the Punch Bowl. The Punch Bowl is also home to many unique plants such as toad flax, glehnia root, and sow thistle. While climbing up a tortuous road to the guard post, we passed miles of barbed-wire fence marking the Southern Limit Line. The fence was about two and a half meters tall, and guarded by soldiers who looked fiercely over the limit of South Korea and into the DMZ. Behind the fence were majestic green mountains. In the midst of these mountains, when I squinted my eyes, I could see vaguely make out the North Korean fence, four kilometers away and obscured by the trees and brushes that blocked my view. The “punch bowl” was not visible until I finally reached the top of one of the surrounding mountains where a guard post is located. Until then, all that was visible was green wildlife meshed against barbed wires, warning signs, and armed posts. Yet upon reaching the top of the mountain, my myopic view gave way to a larger view of the entire ecosystem that was the punch bowl. I could make out a collection of human settlements  

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interspersed with roads and trees, ponds yet untouched. Though certainly the punch bowl would have appeared drastically different through the eyes of American troops 60 years in the past, this scene was riveting, beautiful, and holistic to me. Suddenly, I noticed white smoke rising from the mountains inside the DMZ. I was shocked. This seemed a rather troubling sight in the DMZ, and I was briefly worried that this may have been an incident that could easily escalate into violence. Alarmed, I ran to the closest coin-operated telescope on a nearby platform, and quickly finding a coin in my pocket, I inserted the coin into the telescope so that we could find out the smoke’s source. I could barely see anything but little

A  beautiful  small  pond  called  Dootayeon  n ear  the  Punch  Bowl    (Photo:  the  Author)  

white figures, which appeared to be moving. There were people in the DMZ, where no people are allowed. They were North Korean soldiers. And what were they doing? They were slash-and-burn farming. More specifically, they were farming for their food, inside the DMZ. I was stunned. How could they possibly farm with guns pointed at them? Two ideas came into my head: one, that they did not have enough food so that they had to farm for more; and two, that they did not seem scared to be inside the DMZ. They seemed, instead, to be enthusiastically working. This was the only window into the other side’s mentality that I was afforded this whole trip. Surely the North Korean soldiers stationed at the DMZ would feel the same dullness to the apparent danger of this site, but what motivated them to the slash and farm burning more acutely was the desperate lack of food resources. After this incident, the DMZ seemed much more humane than I  

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previously thought. The DMZ is more than just soldiers are patrolling with guns – the whole picture includes green mountains, wildlife, and farming – a much more calm and peaceful image. At dinner that evening, I met some German researchers and was able to interview them. They had been researching the Punch Bowl for months, analyzing and studying the environment, collecting acid rain, and researching agricultural pesticides. I asked them, “Why the Punch Bowl?” They told me that it is unique in geographical shape, and thus a particularly rewarding place to study ecology. The DMZ was not just a place of tension but also a place for researchers and farmers.

The East In August, I visited the east coast. When I was in elementary school, I visited Mt. Gumgang, which is widely regarded as the most beautiful mountain in Korea yet also located in North Korea. After the war, many South Koreans lamented that they were unable to visit the most beautiful peak on the Korean peninsula, a tragedy that was remedied when relations thawed and South Korean tourists were allowed to periodically visit the mountain under close surveillance. A large resort park was even constructed on Mt. Gumgang, and thousands of tourists visited on a regular basis. This was a win-win situation for both the South and the North: South Koreans finally gained access to and could stay comfortably next to one of the most highly demanded vacation sites on the Korean peninsula, and North Koreans could now receive a stable source of US dollars (though neither South nor North Korea circulate US dollars as their official currency, the North Korean government mandated that only US dollars be used to supply their foreign operations coffers). Yet two years ago, a middle-aged South Korean woman visiting the resort accidentally meandered from the resort portion of the beach and onto North Korean army  

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territory, and when she attempted to flee, was shot and killed on the spot. Since then, South Korean tourists have been barred from visiting the site. This policy of further isolating North Korea, while generally aligned with President Lee Myung-Bak’s relatively hardline stance toward North Korea, only further aggravated the North, who threatened retaliation for the South Korean ban. This time, I visited Goseong, a small city on the northern east coast of South Korea, one of the closest cities to North Korea. The Unification Observatory in the city is the furthest north observatory in South Korea and offers a limited view into the puzzle that is North Korea. From the observatory, I could see the guard posts of North Korea. Even though it was foggy, I could make out the ghostly demarcation of Mt. Gumgang, whose beauty was obscured in a light drizzle. Though the mountain could easily be reached within several hours of walking, I knew that there were far greater obstacles than a long path that separated me from the mountain that I could vaguely recall from my obscured view

A  warning  sign  shows  the  tension  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

 

and from my past.

Below the observatory lies a railroad that used to bring a train, filled with South Korean passengers, back and forth to Mt. Gumgang. The rise and demise of the railroad illustrates very well the relationship between tension and biological flourishing in the DMZ. Many environmental activists expressed concern that the increased development of the Mt. Gumgang resort area and the relevant transportation would disturb the pristine habitats of wildlife there. Though the railroad track was only several meters in its width and the resort also limited to Mt.  

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Gumgang, experts worried that the development would disturb and frighten away the rare species of crane that normally roost there during the winter months. Yet after all commerce to Mt. Gumgang was halted in the wake of the shooting two years ago, the railroad has since lied untouched and is being slowly reclaimed by nature. The increasingly intensity of human conflict, though creating a suffocating air to humans who visit the area, serves as a dense shield to protect the wildlife that teems within. Today, the railroad remains quiet, almost as if a part of the trees and marshes that grow beside it. The scene was picturesque; it seemed like time had stopped ticking, and everything was standing still. At the observatory, we met a generous old lady who has worked at a gift shop in the observatory for over five years. She has met many people who visit the observatory to appreciate the incongruous view of where the most beautiful mountain in Korea and the barbedwire fences of the DMZ meet. The old lady told me that she had heard many different points of view regarding the scene. Some people reminisced about the painful memories of the War, some were dazzled by the gorgeous

An  endangered  bird,  a  Kingfisher,  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  DMZ  Ecology  Research   Institute)   scene, and some were indifferent.  

Threats to the DMZ Although the DMZ and CCZ have been largely untouched by human activity for sixty years due to the intensely regulated and scrutinized rules of the DMZ, the DMZ ecosystem is not without its threat from outside factors.

 

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Human activity is one threat, and as noted before, the level of potentially human activity is inversely correlated to the level of hostility in North-South relations. When relations are more relaxed, a greater leniency of activity is allowed toward the other side in and around the DMZ. For

A  farmer  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

example, after North-South relations temporarily thawed in 1998, South Korean tourists were gained acess to visit Mt. Gumgang, located north of the DMZ and widely regarded as the most beautiful summit in the Korea peninsula. The South Korean government was even permitted to build a railroad through the DMZ to access the mountain, and by the year 2000, over 200,000 tourists had visited Mt. Gumgang. A South Korean company was allowed to build a full-time resort on the beach adjacent to Mt. Gumgang, with the accepted currency being the US dollar – this was thought of as a way for the North Korean government to gain access to US dollar it badly needed to conduct foreign trade. Yet in July 2008, when a 53-year old South Korean tourist was shot after accidentally crossing into a North Korean military zone, the South Korean government suspended all tourist activity to the area, which drew the ire of the DPRK government. The recent Cheonhan and Yeon-pyongdo incident make it appear unlikely that tourists will be able to gain access anytime soon to the area, which also halts all plans for further development of the land surrounding Mt. Gumgang and for development of transportation that cuts through the DMZ. Highways and factories have also been built near the DMZ, which not only destroyed wildlife habitats, but endangered many species. In the CCZ on the South Korean side, many people have begun to cultivate fields and ginseng farms. Ginseng farming is popular because  

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ginseng is an incredibly prized agricultural product sold for a high profit in Korea, but the agricultural pesticides used for ginseng farming presents a diffusible harm to the ecosystem. Since the wetlands of the DMZ are all largely connected through creeks, streams, and estuaries, chemical contamination that occurs on one wetland or wet farm easily filter pass to surrounding wetlands, especially during the monsoon season when excess water leaves the farms and runs into the surrounding environment. The construction of asphalt roads to access these farms and the sound pollution from agricultural machines also disturb the wildlife. Gaeseong Industrial Complex is a joint industrial project between the DPRK and ROK, which was originally intended as a token of reconciliation. It is, however, estimated to pose sever contamination risks to the ecosystem of the DMZ as well as the adjacent Sacheon and Imjin River, which function as winter or yearlong habitat for many endangered crane species. Green Korea United reviewed the industrial blueprint and projected that the currently installed terminal wastewater treatment facilities are not capable of purifying indissoluble and other heavy metal

There  are  many  small  ponds  with  full  of  diverse  floras  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

 

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contaminants, which would provide a serious hamper to the wildlife of the region. Since the project is classified as a South and North Economic Cooperation in Korea, this means that the a large scale development plan is in progress without the pre-construction environmental examination and environmental effect evaluation normally required of any serious construction project. Current terminal wastewater treatment facilities incapable of purifying wastewater’s heavy metal and indissoluble materials. Since the DMZ is a very sensitive zone where two opposite sides deployed huge armies along the line, military operations are inevitable. People often cut down and burn trees to give them a clear view of the enemy, poses a further threat to the wildlife and their habitats. As a result, there is a large field of grasslands without tall trees throughout the DMZ. Many animals are also endangered by landmines and shooting drills that regularly occur throughout the DMZ.

The DMZ Youth Forum In the mid-August 2010, members of the DMZ Ecology Lab gathered and decided to write a “Youth Declaration of Life and Peace.” We met in Imjingak located near the Imjin River on the west coast of South Korea for two days to work on our declaration. We were interested in the environment of the DMZ and how to preserve it for the future. We divided into four small groups to make drafts Carrying  my  camera  and  tripod  inside  the  CCZ  (Photo:  the  Author)  

of the declaration. While working with my

small discussion group, my peers and I noted that environmental problems affect not just us but  

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also future generations. We also determined that environmental issues are something the whole world must solve as one. Therefore, we came up with a conclusion that we as young students should be not only educated about the importance of the preservation of natural environment but should also share our knowledge with the world. We examined the Korean DMZ as a unique example of the power of nature’s resilience, and, after serious discussions that continued late into the night, we wrote a declaration that outlines what we should do as students to preserve the wildlife and natural environment in the DMZ. I have included a copy of the Youth Declaration of Life and Peace.

The Ironic Outcome of the DMZ It is often said that the Korean Demilitarized Zone is the most dangerous place on Earth. It is easy to understand why one might think so – the mountains and hillsides on both sides of the four kilometer strip of land separating the two Koreas bristle with troops, guard posts, tanks, missiles, bunkers, gun emplacements, landmines, and other tools of destruction. When the armistice was signed, the DMZ had been burned, bombed, and wrecked by war – it was a wasteland. The DMZ symbolizes war’s devastation of not just people but also wildlife and the environment. Yet despite symbolizing death, the DMZ in reality is filled with life. I imagined the Korean DMZ as a horror. I thought I would see the North Korean soldiers perched on the watchtower with their guns pointing at me. But instead, I was captivated by the supreme tranquility – the absence of manmade noise, the lush green hillsides, and the rare birds swooping into untouched marshlands. No matter how many tanks or soldiers are pointing at each other in  

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the DMZ, nature still recovered. Here, at the most militarized border on the planet, I felt completely at peace. I know that this ostensible environmental peace is not yet genuine peace, but the DMZ, created by human conflict, has enabled nature to thrive. This ironically achieved natural preservation in the DMZ has the potential to heal the clash of ideologies and to bring the real peace between North and South Korea. Developing the Korean

DMZ

as

an

ecological park or “peace heritage” could help to heal A  beautiful  p ond  inside  the  DMZ  ( Photo:  the  Author)  

the wound.

Conclusion: The Future of the DMZ The DMZ could be called the world’s last Cold War frontier, but the Cold War is essentially over, and the world is now facing a new enemy: global warming and the destruction of our natural environment. More and more attention is being focused on global environmental issues. There is a call from the global community to designate the DMZ as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The UNESCO process provides an opportunity for the two Koreas to join the global conservation movement by overcoming their differences to create a new World Heritage

 

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Site. The DMZ is an unexpected treasure that Korean tragedy has created. It is important to support the conservation of its unique biodiversity, thereby transforming the DMZ from a symbol of war and separation to a place of peace among human beings and between human beings and nature. During my visits, I saw hundreds of black vultures sitting closely together, a grey heron resting sublimely by the coast, and even a loving crane family which is normally only seen in fables. This four kilometer wide strip of beautiful land running 250 kilometers across the entire Korean peninsula is home to native plants, animals and habitats that do not exist elsewhere in North and South Korea but can be re-introduced to restore and maintain biodiversity on the Peninsula. If preserved, the DMZ can serve as an ecological laboratory for the study of nature's resilience. Furthermore, by retaining its wild natural state, the Korean DMZ can attract and support eco-tourism activities compatible with environmental protection more profitably and productively than other potential development plans. Simply put, there is no place comparable to the DMZ on the Korean peninsula – this land must remain intact and protected for the future of Korea and the world. The DMZ is a place of irony where conflict and peace intersect, where both tension and tranquility coexist. What I experienced in the summer of 2010 in the DMZ was not horror, but instead hopes. I hope that the natural preservation of the DMZ will help repair the relationship between North and South Korea. Now that nature has recovered, hopefully it will not take us humans another sixty years to achieve peace.

 

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My  family  entering  the  land  of  irony  (Photo:  the  Author)  

 

 

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Bibliography* Choi, Byeongkyoin. Don’t Cry, Flowers. Seoul: Bolim, 2009. Choi, Jaecheon. Human and Nature. Seoul: Kungree, 2007. Choi, Samkyu. TheDMZ is Alive. Seoul: Nature and Freedman, 2007. DMZ Ecology Research Institute. The DMZEco-Youth Annual Research Activity Report. Seoul: DMZ Ecology Research Institute, 2009. DMZ Ecology Research Institute. The West DMZ and its Wetlands. Seoul: DMZ Ecology Research Institute, 2008. Friedman, Thomas L. Code Green: Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Seoul: Book21, 2008. Higgins, Marguerite. War in Korea. Seoul: Korus, 2009. Kim, Hogi, and Seokhun Kang. The DMZ: Waiting for the Train to Europe. Seoul: Planetmedia, 2009. Kang, Sangjun, and Kyusong Cho. Yongnup of Mt. Daeamsan in Korea. Seoul: UUP, 2010. Kim, Seungho. 2010 DMZ Youth Camp. Seoul: DMZ Ecology Research Institute, 2010. Kyunggi Development Research Center. Research for Development for Ecological Park of DMZ. Seoul: Kyunggido, 2008. The War Memorial of Korea. The DMZ: Special Exhibition. Seoul: Sigongtech, 2002. The War Memorial of Korea, The War Memorial of Korea. Vol.60. Seoul: The War Memorial of Korea, 2008. The Cold War, Documentary. Seoul: EBS, 2010. Wilson, Edward Osborne. The Future of Life. Seoul: Siencebooks, 2005. Wilson, Edward Osborne. The Letter of Life. Seoul: Siencebooks, 2007. United Nations Environmental Programme. NewScience and Developments in Our Changing Environment. Seoul: UNEP Press, 2009. United Nations Environmental Programme. Sustainable Development: Priorities for Northeast Asia. Seoul: UNEP Press, 2005. United Nations Environmental Programme. Tunza. Vol.21~Vol.29. Seoul: UNEP Press, 2010.

*Korean texts were translated by the author.  

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Youth Declaration of Life and Peace Written by the DMZ Ecology Lab student members who joined the youth camp for life and peace in the mid-August, 2010 1. We, as the future leaders of the global community, seek to promote harmony and coexistence as another member of nature. 2. The DMZ, a place of conflict ever since the end of the Korean War, will be emphasized as a place of life and peace. We seek to resolve the conflict amongst humans and the conflict between humans and nature. 3. We will concentrate our efforts on attempts to mollify the conflict of the Korean Peninsula and induce international interest on the restoration of the ecology of DMZ. 4. We propose to raise public awareness on the wild life and various species that are considered endangered or rare in the DMZ, through these, though not limited to, methods: A. Research i. Professional research ii. Post-expedition report iii. Photo reports B. Raising awareness i. Create websites and blog made for the purpose of transferring ideas between the international communities involved in the prospective websites. ii. Participate in events and contests. iii. Hold photo exhibitions. iv. Send various contributions to newspapers and magazines. C. Lobbying for policies to environmental organizations and government institutions. 5. We will work to better relations between North and South Korea through the utilization of these methods: A. To establish and maintain a consistent interest in the global community and the governments involved. B. Have various events, such as essay and speech contests, in order to have students become more informed on the DMZ through having to research for the contests. 6. We declare that we will work to our utmost abilities to help conserve the nature and peace in the DMZ.

   

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