[Report] The Punch Bowl Where Gunfire Ceased... Documenting 1,840 Plant Species Along the Barbed Wire Fence

8,284 Specimens Collected at 150 Sites in the DMZ and Border Regions

A Decade Tracking Biodiversity

From a Fierce Battlefield to a Haven of Ecology and Peace

"Hoping for Cooperation Across Borders"

[Yanggu, Gangwon Province = The Asia Business Daily, Kim Joungho] On October 2, at the National DMZ Native Plant Garden in Haean-myeon, Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, the "Brindisi" from Verdi's opera "La Traviata" resonated through the garden set aglow with the colors of autumn. The voices of a soprano and a baritone were joined by melodies from the piano and double bass. It was a peace concert celebrating the garden's 10th anniversary.

Surrounded by mountains, the garden gathered biodiversity experts from Korea and abroad. The scene was peaceful, no different from any other autumn garden on the surface. However, just beyond the mountains lay barbed wire fences and the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), areas restricted to civilians. Over the past decade, the core mission here has been to discover and document the plants of this boundary and protect species that could disappear.

On the 2nd, domestic and international biodiversity experts and members of the Korean Science Journalists Association visited the National DMZ Wild Plant Garden in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, touring the main exhibition gardens of the botanical garden and receiving explanations about the current status of plant conservation in the DMZ and border areas. Provided by the National DMZ Wild Plant Garden

Shin Hyuntak, Director of the National DMZ Native Plant Garden, said that despite the perception of the DMZ as an area where nature is perfectly preserved due to limited human access, the reality is somewhat different. "People generally think the DMZ is well preserved, but in fact, areas around the fences are quite damaged," he explained. "There are military units deployed and vehicles coming and going, which have also introduced invasive plant species." After discovering the ecological invader Sicyos angulatus in the DMZ, Shin visited the site again and found it had quickly spread through the area, prompting him to request its removal by the military.

Along the Barbed Wire: Finding an 'Address' for 1,840 Plant Species at 150 Sites

Over the last decade, the National DMZ Native Plant Garden has focused on verifying and recording which plant species live in the DMZ and its border areas, and where they are located. For the first time in Korea, the team surveyed 150 previously unstudied mountainous locations along the DMZ and border area barbed wire fences. They secured 8,284 plant specimens and established a database containing distribution data for 1,840 plant species from the DMZ and nearby areas. In addition, 30 candidate species requiring focused conservation efforts were selected.

Director Shin, after obtaining military approval, spent approximately three years walking along the fences to conduct plant surveys. He personally collected seeds from the eastern, central, and western border regions, propagated them, and planted them at the arboretum. Experiments to restore damaged areas near the barbed wire using native plants from the region were also carried out.

The meaning of this decade-long research goes beyond simply counting plant species. "In the past, we did not know what was where; now we do," Shin explained. "We can determine whether a plant should be conserved in situ or whether it needs to be brought to the arboretum for ex situ conservation."

Shin Hyuntak, Director of the National DMZ Native Plant Garden, explained the achievements of the DMZ and border area plant survey and conservation over the past 10 years at the DMZ Native Plant Garden in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Province, on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Joungho

The study results led to the development of plant distribution maps for border regions such as Ganghwa, Gimpo, Paju, Yeoncheon, Cheorwon, Hwacheon, Yanggu, Inje, and Goseong, as well as documentation of native plant distributions. To restore damaged sites inside the barbed wire, 54 species of native plants were selected, and eight pilot wildflower belts with a total area of 2,480 square meters were established. Approximately 11 kilograms of native plant seeds are produced annually for use in restoration projects.

However, conducting surveys along the barbed wire is not simply a matter of researcher will; access depends on inter-Korean relations and military security conditions. Some sites that were surveyed in the past are now inaccessible. Shin noted, "There are places you simply can't get to, no matter how much you want to survey them." He suggested that previously unvisited wetlands with minimal human contact may still harbor undiscovered plant species.

Punch Bowl: From Gunfire to Garden

The Haean Basin, where the botanical garden is located, is more widely known as the "Punch Bowl." The name refers to the basin's shape, surrounded by mountains like a punch bowl. Today, it is a tranquil blend of high-altitude farmland and forest, but over 70 years ago, it was the site of fierce battles during the Korean War.

Where tens of thousands of soldiers once clashed on the mountains and in the valleys, a national research facility now stands, collecting, conserving, and restoring plants and ecosystems.

The National DMZ Native Plant Garden was not a lush, wooded area from the beginning. Before its establishment, the site consisted of abandoned terraced fields and barren land that had long been neglected. When the garden first opened in 2016, most of the trees and plants were short. Over the past 10 years, the trees have grown, and now they provide deep shade in many corners of the garden.

Currently, the garden covers an area of 18 hectares and houses 1,172 plant species, including 90 endemic species, 31 species from North Korea, and 274 northern Korean Peninsula species. In May, the North Korean Plant Exhibition Hall was also opened. The garden has acquired 54 North Korean plant species as both living specimens and seeds, and research into propagation, cultivation, and management techniques for 25 of these species is underway.

The North Korean Plant Exhibition Center within the National DMZ Native Plant Garden in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province, which opened last May. It was established to build a foundation for the conservation of plant biodiversity on the Korean Peninsula through the collection, propagation, and preservation of North Korean and northern plants. Provided by the National DMZ Native Plant Garden.

Given the difficulty of launching direct plant surveys in North Korea, the team also worked to identify which plant species exist there. The Korea National Arboretum, together with Seoul National University and Mokpo National University, compiled a checklist of 2,223 North Korean vascular plant species. Efforts are also underway to obtain North Korean and northern plant species preserved abroad.

Director Shin expects that if inter-Korean relations improve and joint surveys become possible, comparative research could be conducted on how the same plant species have diverged in the North and South after decades of division. "If we can exchange with botanical gardens in North Korea, there would be tremendous synergy," he said. "As an institution bearing the DMZ name, we hope to create joint research projects in a wide range of disciplines, not just in botany."

The Next Decade for the DMZ: Transforming 'Borders' into 'Connections'

For its 10th anniversary, the National DMZ Native Plant Garden presented a theme of "Biodiversity, Peace, and the Future Beyond the DMZ." On October 1-2, the Korea National Arboretum and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held an international symposium at the Korea National Arboretum in Pocheon and at the DMZ Native Plant Garden in Yanggu. Domestic and international experts from organizations like the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) discussed the possibility of utilizing the DMZ as a space for transboundary ecological conservation and international cooperation.

The National DMZ Native Plant Garden is also broadening its foundation for international collaboration. The East Asia Plant Conservation Network involves seven institutions from six countries and has accumulated 1.82 million occurrence records of plant species to date. On October 2, the garden sealed a time capsule containing seeds of 20 North Korean plant species and messages wishing for peace.

The perspectives of visiting foreign experts also extended beyond simple plant conservation. Professor Elisabeth Sikiaridi of Germany's Hybrid Space Lab remarked that the fact plants collected directly from the DMZ are growing here is a powerful story in itself. She suggested that blending art and culture with nature could further transform this space into one for peace and reconciliation.

Anthony Allison (right), Chairman of the Board of Partnerships for Nature in the United States, is responding to reporters' questions about biodiversity conservation in the DMZ and international cooperation on the 2nd at the National DMZ Native Plant Garden in Yanggu County, Gangwon Province. Provided by the National DMZ Native Plant Garden

Anthony Allison, Chairman of the Board of Partnerships for Nature in the United States, evaluated the DMZ Native Plant Garden as a symbolic space embodying the values of biodiversity, education, conservation, and peace. He emphasized the potential for new relationships to be formed through plants in Punch Bowl, a place once marked by war.

Allison stated, "This is a symbolic place where the values of biodiversity, education, conservation, and peace come together. We hope that in the future, we can cross borders to research, learn about, and cooperate with nature."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.