DMZ Eco Tour!

I remember on the night of the meteor shower in November, my classmates and I had a hard time finding a place to go star gazing. In a city like Seoul, it's a rare sight to see, the stars. There's so much pollution in the air, sometimes it feels like there's a constantly grey-brown tint effect on the scenery. I took this picture from building 63 (right).

You can see a clear line in the atmosphere where the smog hovers above the city. Though the rainbow of colors you see is beautiful, it's depressing to know that it's from the pollution in the air. It's no wonder locals always look at their hometowns and the countryside with such fondness: chances are, it's cleaner and healthier. There are less people and fewer cars. More land and cleaner air. It's hard to imagine that only about an hour north of Seoul, there's the cleanest patch of land in the region: the DMZ. Because it has been marked as a no-man's land since the Korean War, no one has inhabited or disturbed the natural habitat that stretches 2 kilometers across the peninsula.

I recently took a eco-tour of the border where we were allowed to take photos of the landscape and the wildlife. Coming from the Lowcountry of South Carolina, I was curious to see how the wetlands of far east Asia would compare to home. I was looking forward to seeing wild animals again. And mostly, a landscape without three city blocks of apartments.

This eagle was the first thing to greet us at the observatory. There were quite a few when we got there, quite a treat. I had forgotten how long it had been since I saw a bird bigger than a crow. It brought me back to when we'd watch the eagles out in the back yard in the States. Later we found some herons. They were too far away to get a decent picture from the distance of the road.

At every location, we always found different animals. We spotted some geese feeding. Some ducks in the river. Some deer in the grass. And even some vultures in the fields. Strange as it seems, they feed them meat to scavenge off of.

I thought it was especially interesting to note that many of the animals we found at the DMZ are not native to this specific region, but have recently in the past five decades found refuge in the area because of its lack of human disturbance. Here's a shot of one of the more common birds of Korea. Did I mention deer? They're so cute.

Our tour guides worked together to explain a wide range of questions. They explained the migration patterns of geese, how the brackish water tides are what made some rivers' ice choppy and cracked while some were still frozen, the politics of the border, all the while identifying and searching for birds as they spoke. They even survived my quiz on the different kinds of tracking methods used on migrating birds (not my usual banter, but the curiosity that this trip brought out of me was surprising). It was as much of a treat for them to be outdoors looking for their winged friends as it was for us to see the place for the first time. On multiple occasions we were so fascinated by a formation of geese or trying to find a tag in a group of over thirty vultures that time nearly got away from us to continue on our trip.

The tour surpassed my expectations. Not only were the tour guides knowledgeable and passionate about the DMZ and its habitat, but the they brought us to areas that were previously impossible for the public to see. I hope that this tour will continue to run because this habitat deserves more respect and appreciation as a wildlife reserve. The DMZ never fails to bring a wide range of emotions. It's a source of historical value, political tension, and national hurt. Its juxtapositions are endless. The security always makes me feel vulnerable, yet safe. The museums are interesting, yet sad. The groups are always excited, but heavy-hearted. And in the middle of a war-torn country, the DMZ 2km is peaceful.

This last group of images is from our final stop at the top of a mountain. It overlooks most of the places we visited during our tour. All of the images can be found on my flickr site, and the tour was sponsored by Kyunggi Tourism Organization and hosted by Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation.