On March 18^th, Korea celebrated the closing ceremony of one of the world?s greatest festivals –the Olympics and the Paralympics. Following the Olympic tradition of popular figures participating in the torch relay, many Korean celebrities and athletes including figure skater Yuna Kim and Korea?s number one comedian Jae-suk Yoo visited famous sites or places of significant value. Among the many famous places chosen for the torch relay, a couple participants visited was a wetland in Suncheon. Regarded as one of the big five coastal wetlands in the world, Suncheon wetland is highly praised for its biodiversity and liveliness.

             Another famous wetland region would be the wetlands at the DMZ (Demilitarized zone). The DMZ, referring to the area near the line that divides South Korea from North Korea, is now home to thousands of plant and animal species, including those that live in its wetlands. Then was the DMZ zone always the way it is, full of life and nature?

             The answer is no. Before the Korean War (1950~1953) broke out, residents used the area for farming land; it was just a typical town in the countryside, only placed at the center of the Korean territory.

             However, after the war ended with an irreversible line separating the land and creating two Koreas, the area surrounding the line remained as a ?peace zone? that both countries—North and South Korea—made a treaty not to cross and leave it intact; the land remained—and still is—nearly untouched for more than sixty years. Accordingly, the areas that were previously used as arable land developed into vast wetlands. In the northern part of the region, there are valley wetlands along with lake wetlands while the southern part consists of low-lying wetlands.

             One aspect we should really put a spotlight on is the region?s wetlands? great capacity to provide shelters for numerous animal species, including many endangered species. It is the shelter for many migrating birds such as cranes; every year over 3000 eagles bear the winter. The DMZ is also the home of many nearly extinct animals including the white-naped crane, Asiatic black bear, and possibly the Amur leopard. Some scholars even claim that Siberian tigers might also inhabit in the area, but no concrete evidence is yet to be found. The DMZ also has a colorful combination of many plant species; it is the home to over 2000 taxa (a group of the population).

             As seen in the example of the DMZ in the Korean peninsula, wetlands all over the world play a huge role in supporting biodiversity. Recent attempts to build cities and make roads on top of wetlands will be a great threat to the whole ecosystem and all the animals living or even temporarily resting, in those areas. Let?s keep the wetlands ?wet? and not replace them with dry and dusty cities.