Pictures of Wildlife in Korea's Demilitarized Zone

Dangerous Border—and Sanctuary
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
Like smoke from a long-ago battlefield, fog drifts across the demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing South and North Korea.
One of the most heavily guarded borders in the world, the DMZ—shown here to the right of the fortified fence—severed the country in two as part of a cease-fire agreement that ended fighting in 1953. Technically, however, North and South Korea are still at war.
The 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) wide, 148-mile (238-kilometer) long border stretches the width of the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel. It is peppered with landmines and bordered by barbed wire. Access is restricted, and military units from both countries patrol their respective sides. (Read more about Korea's DMZ in National Geographic magazine.)
Yet despite the posturing and the insults hurled across this narrow strip of land, the DMZ has become a haven for wildlife and plants in the region.
"It's kind of the irony of war," said Hall Healy, chairman of the board of the International Crane Foundation, which has worked with researchers and locals near the DMZ on red-crowned crane conservation.
Species that have dwindled or disappeared in some parts of Asia have found refuge in the DMZ. Sightings of rare birds, such as red-crowned cranes and white-naped cranes, are not unusual. Black bears, musk deer, and Amur gorals—a goat relative that lives in the mountains—also inhabit this heavily fortified area.
—Jane J. Lee
Published August 20, 2013
Foot Patrol
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
Jongwoo Park, who began documenting the DMZ in 2009 as part of a project commissioned by the Korean Ministry of National Defense, was the first civilian photographer allowed in the DMZ since the Korean War Armistice in 1953. He took this photo, and the others of wildlife and pristine landscapes that follow.
Published August 20, 2013
Red-Crowned Rarity
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
A flock of rare red-crowned cranes flies over fields in Gangwon Province, just south of the DMZ in the Civilian Control Zone (CCZ). The CCZ is a buffer zone on the South Korean side of the DMZ where limited civilian activity, such as rice farming, is allowed.
The red-crowned crane is an iconic cultural symbol throughout Asia, says International Crane Foundation's Healy, yet only about 1,700 to 2,000 are left in the wild.
About half of the red-crowned cranes live in a non-migratory flock in Japan, while the others fly from Russia to spend winters on the Korean Peninsula.
"Our concern is that as North and South Korea start to work together more, South Korea might start to develop the area in the DMZ and the CCZ where the cranes go," Healy said.
Organizations such as the DMZ Forum, based in New York City, have tried for years to turn the DMZ into a nature preserve or accord it World Heritage status.
Published August 20, 2013
Halcyon Days
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
A black-capped kingfisher (Halcyon pileata) perches on a barbed wire fence in Hwachon (map), south of the DMZ. (Listen to the kingfisher's vocalizations.)
"[The DMZ] was quite a dangerous place," photographer Park wrote in an email. "Landmines are all over, and I was within the maximum effective range of North Korean soldiers' rifles." But he also felt peaceful, he said, being surrounded by untouched nature.
Published August 20, 2013
Chilly Relations
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
During Park's project to document this no-man's-land, South Korea claimed that a North Korean submarine fired a torpedo and sank one of its navy's ships, the Cheonan, on March 26, 2010. Forty-six seamen lost their lives.
Tensions between the two Koreas grew worse. North Korea then filed a complaint to the Military Armistice Commission—a United Nations group tasked with negotiating a peace treaty between the two powers—about someone carrying a telephoto lens inside the DMZ, which curtailed Park's work.
He was eventually able to resume photographing areas such as the Southern Limit Line—pictured here during winter—on the South Korean side of the DMZ. The area often receives over three feet (one meter) of snow.
Published August 20, 2013
Mysterious Minefields
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
This area in Cheorwon (map), on the South Korean side of the DMZ, is said to contain possible minefields. But red-crowned cranes don't seem to mind, flying into the swampy area on their way south from Siberia in November.
Published August 20, 2013
Isolated Wetland
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
The bog pictured here is just south of the DMZ within the Civilian Control Line. It stretches for 688 feet (210 meters) along the coast and was the first Korean wetland to be registered through the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands. It is also the only high moor in South Korea, according to the area description on the Ramsar listing.
Published August 20, 2013
Mountain Gorals
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
This goat relative lives in mountainous or rocky terrain throughout eastern Russia, northeastern China, and North and South Korea. They are also called Amur gorals or long-tailed gorals, and are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Gorals have been designated a Korean natural monument. These two were photographed inside the DMZ near Hwachon (map) in Gangwon Province.
Published August 20, 2013
Winter Migrants
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
Cinereous, or black, vultures fly in from Mongolia to spend their winters on the Korean peninsula. Restaurants, butcher shops, and farmers in towns close to the DMZ—such as Cheorwon (map)—have been known to leave out the carcasses of stillborn calves and scraps of fat for the birds.
Classified as near threatened by the IUCN Red List, there are about 7,200 to 10,000 pairs spread across Europe and Asia.
Published August 20, 2013
Summer Floods
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
Summer rains bring floods to swampy areas of the DMZ. This water drains into the Bukhan River, which eventually empties into the Yellow Sea (map). The Bukhan originates at Mount Kumgang (map) in North Korea.
Published August 20, 2013
Strange Illumination
Photograph by Jongwoo Park
As night falls, lights mark the Southern Limit Line on the South Korean side of the DMZ.
The lights illuminate barbed wire fences that stretch 154 miles (248 kilometers) across the Korean peninsula, from the west end of the DMZ to the mouth of the Han River, and then east to the Sea of Japan, or East Sea (map).
Photographer Park sees a bright side to the DMZ despite its dark history. The fact that it's been left virtually untouched for 60 years means that it's become a kind of nature sanctuary.
"I really hope this zone is preserved in this condition forever—not politically, but environmentally," he said.
Published August 20, 2013

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2 comments

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John Snider

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This problem between the two Korea's, reminds of what happens to people when they get caught up in a fight between two larger powers. The people can end up mad at each other, with no way to fix the problem, because they weren't really the problem in the first place. That's all forgotten due to the amount of damage that was incurred on both sides, but the reality is that they are carrying an offense that belongs to others. It would seem there is no logical way for them to resolve the conflict. Perhaps re-establishing their original identity, just as if the conflict never occurred, i.e. laying down the identities foisted upon them by the superpowers, might help. It would take a lot of forgiveness and a lot of soul searching. I pray for the peace of Korea.