Survey of 150 DMZ and border areas... 8,284 plant specimens, DB 1,840 species
54 species of North Korean plants on display in one place... There is also a work made by melting down the actual DMZ barbed wire fence.
(Yanggu = Yonhap News) Reporter Shin Seon-mi = "Collecting plant resources from the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) not only has academic significance but also has strong symbolism." (Elizabeth Sikiaridi, professor at Hybrid Space Lab in Germany)
โI think there is a need to share research cases internationally.โ (Annette Wallgren, United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Team Leader)
DMZ Native Botanical Garden in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do on the 2nd. Foreign experts who attended the 10th anniversary event looked around the botanical garden and expressed their admiration.
Every time they came across the midwife, which grew between the rocks and bloomed purple flowers, and the Pocheon Gujeolcho, which dyed the trail white, they raised their cell phones and took pictures.
โ Survey of 150 DMZ and border areasโฆ Establishment of database for 8,284 specimens and 1,840 species
The DMZ Native Botanical Garden is a cradle of research that collects plant resources from the Korean Peninsula and preserves rare and endemic plants in the DMZ.
The botanical garden explains that the DMZ has formed an ecosystem that cannot be found anywhere else, as access to civilians has been restricted for a long time.
Not only does it have excellent biodiversity, but it is also home to rare wild animals and plants, making it recognized globally as a treasure trove of natural ecosystems.
In addition, the botanical garden has continued restoration research to re-establish native plants in damaged areas.
When it opened in 2016, most of the botanical gardens were filled with short trees. However, 10 years later, the 18 ha (hectare, 1 ha is 10,000 m2) botanical garden has several exhibition gardens that reproduce vegetation from various parts of the Korean Peninsula.
An official of the DMZ Native Botanical Garden explained the main achievements at the media tour of the Science Journalists Association and the National Arboretum held on this day, saying, "For the first time in Korea, we surveyed 150 areas bordering the DMZ and secured 8,284 plant specimens and a database of 1,840 species of distributed plants."
โ Securing North Korean plants through a third countryโฆ Beyond biodiversity and conservation, as a symbol of โpeaceโ
This year, the botanical garden celebrates its 10th anniversary, and has created a 4,000ใก North Korean Plant Exhibition Center, a specialized exhibition space to promote the ecological value of northern plants on the Korean Peninsula and North Korean plants.
It was reported that North Korean plant seeds were able to be secured through exchanges with third countries such as China and the Czech Republic.
In this exhibition garden, trefoil blooms cute-sized white flowers, stopping visitors in their tracks.
I was able to see white poppies showing off their elegant appearance and mugworts from Baekdu Mountain that filled the spaces between the rocks.
An official at the DMZ Native Botanical Garden said, โWe are currently displaying 54 species in the North Korean plant exhibition space,โ and added, โThere are plants that are currently proliferating, so we plan to introduce more over time.โ
At the end of the walkway, we could see an exhibition of barbed wire fences that reminded us of the scars of war. In the case of the bell-shaped exhibit, it is said that it was made by melting down actual DMZ iron fence to add meaning. In fact, there is a DMZ barbed wire fence 10km away in a straight line from this botanical garden.
Anthony Allison, chairman of Partnership for Nature, an American non-profit environmental conservation organization, said during the tour that day, "DMZ Native Botanical Garden is a collection of four keywords: species diversity, nature conservation, education, and peace."
