DMZ, Korea¡¯s last wildlife preserve

Not more than five minutes after the plate of food was left out, sounds of short grunts could be heard. Two wild boars and a piglet were feeding on the food. Then, from nowhere, a wild cat appeared and joined in the feast.

At the area immediately beside the Demilitarized Zone in Ko-sung District of Kangwon Province, wild animals and armed soldiers live side by side. The boars coming in for a feast are common, and even a wildcat and a mountain goat can be spotted at times. In the one and only river system that flows across the DMZ from the South to the North, narrow-waist crabs, known to live only in the cleanest water, thrive.

"We educate our soldiers to refrain from harming the wild animals, and every April, we release salmon fries so that they could make their way to the sea through North Korea,¡± Army Capt. Chung Myung-Shik, stationed in the area, said.

Benefiting from a half-believed superstition that harming a wild animal might bring misfortune to the army, the area boasts home to various endangered and protected wildlife, such as the Korean mountain goat and the red-crested white crane.

Not only for animals, but also for plant life, the DMZ provides a safe haven. Although the area had been de-forested for the purpose of army strategic consideration, the joint surveillance area boasts a great number of wild growths untouched by human development.

Of the various areas, there is an area considered a living museum of life, near the summit of Dae-Ahm Mountain about 1,280 meters above sea level. The 4,500-year-old natural marsh area became listed on the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the international accord on wildlife protection, in 1997.

The marsh area has been reduced in size by half to about 6,970 square meters due to the invasive expansion of surrounding non-marsh land area. It is home to 191 types of marsh plant life and 234 types of insects while providing an intricate food chain for a great number of amphibious and reptilian life. A step on the marsh land feels as if one was treading a soft bed. The topography of the valley and the cool climate block the escape of water from the area.

However, in 1977, a large area of the marsh land was lost due to the construction of an army skating rink. Water channels were drilled in various places, which drained the water from the marsh land. Evergreen trees have begun to grow in some parts, and sand mass is beginning to form along the water channels. The 4,500 years of growth of the marsh land is being jeopardized overnight.

The marsh land is not the only place under threat. Many observers have pointed out that the cross-border railway construction, as well as other pre-unification ventures, have threatened various area of preserved land.

Although the Ministry of Environment has designated the DMZ as an area under absolute protection as one of the measures to prevent development in the borderland between South and North, many feel it would not be enough to stall or prevent the railway construction and other pre-unification ventures.

Kim Joon-Seok kjs359@donga.com