It has been 60 years since the two Koreas signed an armistice that ended the Korean War. During her recent visit to the U.S., President Park Geun-hye proposed a plan to create an international peace park along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Her speech fluttered with new hope, reflecting our nation's will to settle peace and opening the possibility of reunification of the two Koreas. While such efforts to promote peace are laudable, I cannot but express my anxiety about the environmental impact that this development project could potentially bring.
As a member of the DMZ youth expedition team, I have devoted incessant care and love toward the DMZ and the preservation of its rich ecosystem. The DMZ is a buffer zone, stretching two kilometers north and south and ranging four kilometers in width. It is an extremely well-preserved ecosystem, a place through which soldiers and civilians can pass only with the permission of the Military Armistice Commission. It is also nature’s repository and home to approximately 2,716 kinds of wild animals and plants, including 67 endangered species.
It’s no wonder its biological importance is recognized worldwide. The crane, a winter visitor and an endangered member, always stops by the DMZ. Rare animals, including the white-naped crane, wildcats, deer, and the Korean Golden Frog, are few of the inhabitants living in the DMZ area. For 60 years, these animals have created their own order and peace, outside the hands of the human race. Truly, it is a place of tranquility and graceful beauty.
How can we help sustain this peace existing within the ecosystem? Before the construction of the DMZ peace park, there are a few points that must be taken into consideration. In order for this development project to be a success, numerous field experts must have sufficient conversations with North Korea, considering it is a place of political conflict. Also, they need to acknowledge the potential threat of landmines. Above all, the park must maintain the peace and order of the animals and plants that have kept a beautiful and quiet habitat of their own for the past 60 years so it could be a world peace "ecological" park.
It is necessary to devise and implement a plan that would not only promote world peace but also preserve the peace that exists within the ecosystem. The DMZ is one of the few remaining places on earth where plants can live in harmony with nature. It is one of the few places where animals can run freely, without the threat of encroachment. It is a place that we, humans, should protect with all our might.
Kwon Yong-nam
Student at Korean Minjok Leadership Academy