Man in love with Upo Wetland
Lee In-sikBy Kim Se-jeongLee In-sik, 63, a retired school teacher, moved to the Upo Wetland in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, five years ago.Lee bought an empty storage space there, spending all of his severance pay. He used that space to teach visitors about the importance of wetlands, and he opened a library inside the space on Aug. 29. On the same day, his book on Upo was published.The book, “The Secret Garden, Upo,” is an essay and a collection of his 5-year-long work at Upo, the nation’s largest inland wetland and one of eight on Ramsar’s wetland list in Korea.He goes out to the 2.13-square-kilometer wetland twice a day, acting like one of its guardians.Lee’s dedication to Upo has continued for the last 24 years.He was behind the effort to put Upo on the list of Ramsar wetlands. He urged Changwon, a city near Upo, to host the Ramsar International Convention and made it happen in 2008. He also writes for local newspapers and accepts invitations to speak about the wetlands.Asked about his motivation, he cited a toxic chemical spill in the Nak
Oct 2, 2015By Kim Se-jeong