Recently DMZ has received much attention from the media. First of all, it is related to the North Limitation Line(NLL) which has created a huge dispute in South Korea. The two largest parties in Korea are debating over whether the former president gave up South Korea's NLL. Now, more people are concerned about the bordering areas of North and South Korea. 

Second of all, president Park, the incumbent president, has announced to create a peace park within the DMZ. Not only would this park help foster a peaceful relationship with the north, it would be useful in educating people about DMZ's remarkably well-preserved environment. However, environmentalists are concerned that constructing a park would disturb the ecosystem there. The government has promised that it would minimize human intervention, but the government's plan includes walk paths and bicycle tracks which would inevitably destroy some part of the ecosystem. 

What do you think? 

Eco-tourism is effective in teaching people the importance and value of nature. However, it can also harm the very nature that we are trying to protect. For example, the number of sea turtles has declined rapidly after their nesting sites were opened for tourists. Creating a peace park could be useful for educational purposes, but it may be detrimental to protecting DMZ's unique environment which should be our primary goal. 

 I wrote this article because I wanted all of you to think about DMZ's future. How should we use this area? For what purpose? Should we develop it and boost our economy? Should we leave it alone as it now? How about after Korea's reunification? How should we eliminate the landmines?

Please take time to think about the questions I left for you.

Today is the last day of our ambassador term and I want to thank you for the all your comments and ideas. I am glad that more people are now aware of the DMZ in Korea. If you by any chance come to Korea, I would be happy to guide you through DMZ. I hope you all continue your efforts to protect the environment! :)

The pictures were from http://blog.naver.com/nombo1?Redirect=Log&logNo=161341100