DMZ Ecosystem

Study to Lay Groundwork for `Peace and Life' Zone

Government officials, historians, and environment and culture experts kicked off a joint study on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, Monday. The study is focused on the ecosystem, forests and cultural properties of the heavily fortified zone. It is meaningful that the DMZ, the world's last Cold War frontier, is now under a full investigation for the first time since it was set up at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

The DMZ is a 248km-long, 4km-wide buffer belt dissecting the central part of the peninsular. It covers 907 square kilometers. It is the result of the fratricidal war and a vivid witness of the Cold War confrontation. It has been forbidden land for the last 55 years. But, the area provides a pristine ecosystem for plants and animals. There are six streams, 37 mountains and 32 major wetlands.

According to biologists, the DMZ serves as a habitat for several thousand types of plants, over 80 fish species and more than 50 types of mammals, many of which cannot be seen in any other part of the world. Therefore, the area has been drawing much attention not only from Koreans but also from people around the globe. It symbolizes the war and the tragic history of South and North Korea. But it is now emerging as an invaluable asset for the divided nation and the world.

We hope the joint study, which is to continue until 2010, will successfully discover the real value of the DMZ from the perspectives of ecology, culture, history and tourism. The 20-member research team headed by Seoul National University professor Kim Kwi-gon is to focus on nine areas including topography, cultural properties and wildlife. The mission comes after the Seoul government decided to create an eco-friendly peace park in the DMZ.

The government also plans to map out measures to preserve the ecosystem in the area. Officials are also seeking to have the DMZ designated a biosphere belt by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). For this, continued research is required to better preserve the historically, culturally and ecologically important zone.

There is little doubt that the transformation of the DMZ into an ecological peace park will help the two Koreas overcome national division, discard animosity and move toward reconciliation, peace and co-prosperity. The zone also has great potential for eco-tourism.

What's more urgent is that the two Koreas closely cooperate in protecting nature and promoting peace in the DMZ. Thus, we call on the North to actively participate in the study of the area because we cannot conduct complete research without collaboration from the communist country. Seoul and Pyongyang should no longer delay their efforts to turn a symbol of war and division into that of peace and life.