When we were children

By Kim Sun-ae

In January, Koreans received a text message from the government that a U.S. satellite was falling out of orbit and there was a possibility that the debris would strike the Korean Peninsula. If parts of the satellite had collided with a nuclear power plant, a skyscraper and so on, it would have been a disaster.

Is it a responsible action to launch satellites that can threaten the lives of a lot of people and other living beings someday? Our every action affects not only the people who currently live together on this planet, but also many future generations. With globalization and the climate crisis, our responsibility for our actions has become bigger than ever.

To be happy, do we really need so many things like now? Last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced a plan to construct a new airport in Saemangeum, Gunsan, North Jeolla Province.

The planned site of the new airport is only 1.3 kilometers from the existing Gunsan Airport. According to Korea Airports Corp., Gunsan Airport has shown a deficit of more than 3 billion won a year for the last five years due to a lack of demand. This means that if Saemangeum Airport is constructed, it will likely show a loss, too.

If the new airport is built, its planned site, the Sura Tidal Flat, will disappear. The construction of the airport means the destruction of the ecosystem. The tidal flat is the home of various living beings, including lots of endangered species such as Eurasian otters, white-tailed eagles and black-faced spoonbills. If we remove their home, where will they go? The place is also a crucial habitat for migratory birds.

Moreover, in this era of the climate crisis, it is urgent to make concerted efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions all over the world. Tidal flats play an important role in absorbing greenhouse gases. According to a study by a Seoul National University research team, Korean tidal flats absorb 260,000 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to what 110,000 cars emit a year. What will be a responsible action, conserving the tidal flat or building an airport that will lead to massive greenhouse gas emissions?

Rich or poor, we all are born, grow up, age and return to the soil. What will we leave behind after we die? Greenhouse gases that have been emitted due to our excessive consumption, and will remain in the atmosphere for centuries? Nuclear waste and space debris that can threaten the safety of future generations?

All of us were once children who didn't need much to be content. When we were young, we could be delighted just with a yellow flower as small as a fingernail, a red autumn leaf or snowflakes falling from the sky. Now we have a lot more than we did back then, but are we happier?

Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/everythingchanges) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated "Little Lord Fauntleroy."