Korea is gifted with mountainous terrains, deep seas, isolated islands, humid swamps, all rolled into one within a small peninsular. It is not peculiar, then, that the country is full of variety of species, both animals and plants. Korea is especially famous for its great source of plants that grow in mountains to make restorative herb medicines. The danger for these species in Korea is mainly two things, and these two causes inflict danger for animals and plants, each.

First is the inflow of introduced species, which endangers the animals. The most infamous example of this is a fish called Bass. It was introduced to Korea in the 1960s, when the country was undeveloped and was racked with bouts of famine. The government purposely supported the fish farming of this species. The problem occurred, however, when this fish, along with another species called blue gill, was let loose in rivers. These fishes began to terrorize the riverside, placed in the top of the food cycle. The river ecosystem was destroyed, as these fishes ate those at the lower food cycle to the excess. These fishes ultimately led to the endangering of many species of the river. This problem cannot be easily solved, as the fishes are already pervasive in countryside areas. The government is planning various methods, as giving money to those who capture these fish, but has so far been unsuccessful. But as a side note, there was this peculiar species of introduced species that was reported to be good for health. Surprisingly, this painful problem of getting rid of the species was solved in a matter of months, as the Koreans who heard the news all hunted them down for edible uses.

Second is global warming, which affects the distribution of plants. Due to global warming, the plants that have been living in Korea is on an upward role, towards China. But since the tropical fruits can now be harvested at the south, wouldn?t the economic benefits and costs balance out? Unfortunately, the plants that were harvested at the north deep within the mountains were very valuable for Korean medicine (also known as Oriental medicine). As the precious, invaluable medicine plants can no longer be harvested directly, it imposes danger for the whole business of Korean medicine. Even though it could be imported through China, the Koreans tend to believe more in domestic product. The changes made, would be irreversible.

Due to the reasons mentioned above, Korea is losing precious species, and unfortunately, they cannot be easily solved through legislation. It just proves that the problems of nature are rarely reversible, nor light. We must take care to protect the endangered species, but also must pay attention to the species that are not yet endangered.