Mangroves discovered on Korean shores, signaling warming climate

Myoporum bontioides, tentatively named "beach paulownia" / Courtesy of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province

On the windswept southern coast of Jeju Island, scientists have discovered a visitor that was never supposed to be there: a woody mangrove species previously unknown to the Korean Peninsula.

The discovery of the plant, Myoporum bontioides (tentatively named the "beach paulownia"), was announced Tuesday by the Jeju World Heritage Office and Jeju National University. While the peninsula’s warming waters have long brought subtropical fish and seaweed to its shores, the arrival of a woody tree species marks a significant and visible escalation in the regional impact of climate change.

Typically found in the sweltering coastal zones of Vietnam, Taiwan and southern Japan, the mangrove appears to have traveled north as a hitchhiker on ocean currents. Researchers estimate that the plants have been growing on Jeju for at least seven years, surviving long enough to reach maturity and flower.

The appearance of mangroves in Korea is more than a botanical curiosity. It is a preview of a shifting ecosystem. These plants are the primary architects of "blue carbon" sinks, coastal ecosystems that can sequester carbon at rates up to three times higher than terrestrial forests. As natural breakwaters, they protect shorelines from erosion and provide critical nurseries for marine life.

However, their northward migration is also a warning.

According to the Jeju Regional Meteorological Administration, 2025 was the second-warmest year on record for the island, with an average temperature of 17.3 degrees Celsius (63 degrees Fahrenheit).

"The discovery of this plant is a natural expansion of a species appearing at the front lines of climate change," said Kim Hyung-eun, director of the Jeju World Heritage Office.

While the "beach paulownia" has successfully anchored itself in Jeju’s volcanic soil, its survival remains precarious. Some branches are already showing signs of withering, leading scientists to call for urgent conservation efforts. For Korea, the tree is a living indicator that the boundary between the temperate and the subtropical is rapidly blurring.

This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.