National parks are established to preserve natural ecosystems and conserve biodiversity, through which natural heritage and invaluable landscapes are protected into the future. Without having natural diversity and habitats properly protected, the quality of Korea’s national parks has rapidly deteriorated, as the volume of park visitors skyrocketed for the last 15 years. Many protected areas, such as Soraksan and Pukhansan National Parks, no longer have the essence of natural ecosystems and landscape which is of little avail for future generations. Mt. Pukhan, for example, cannot be sustained as a national park, because the natural environment cannot absorb the impacts of Seoulites’ onslaught.

Valiant efforts of the Ministry of Environment and the National Parks Authority to maintain the status quo will not alleviate the continued deterioration of natural environments in the Korea’s national parks. The flood control and hiking trail remediation in the Pukhansan National Park by the National Parks Authority and the planned expansion of the park boundaries by the Environment Ministry may be useful and perhaps necessary. These remedial efforts, however, do not improve the quality of ecosystems and protection of biodiversity in the national parks, unless major changes are made in the policy and practice of resource management are made to uphold the conservation objectives of protected areas in the context of ecosystem management.

The Chosun Ilbo (Digital Chosun), in a series of Specials “Destruction of the Countryside:” (1-15), 5/21-6/7/2000) diligently described the continued rapid exploitation and loss of natural lands and landscapes in Korea--that is the dire reality of today’s Korean environment, demanding an immediate resolution. Yet, South Korea’s political leadership continues to skirt the environmental challenge. The Biodiversity Korea 2000 Report (by the Korean Biodiversity Council, 1994) revealed the dismal state of Korea’s biodiversity loss and habitat destruction. Similarly, the International Symposium “Development of National Strategy for Conservation of National parks and Protected Areas in Korea” (Korean Biodiversity Council and National Parks Authority, 1995) identified the environmental problems of national parks and provided a scientific guidance for ecologically sound management of natural resources in the national park system. Korea’s national parks have lost the essence of nature conservation and are no longer protected areas in true sense. Building massive stone stairways and widening the hiking courses on Mount Pukhan and Mount Tobong will not fix the today’s environmental problems in the national parks, because the primary cause is the people who must use national parks for survival but not rain or flood, requiring a scientific management of natural resources in the park lands.

South Korea is a small country with too many people, the land of industrial and urban complexes. Living in artificial surroundings, Korean people crave natural environment that is getting increasingly scarce every year for renewal of life. Forty seven million people who seek natural environment for survival will continually need to use national parks, because green space is getting scarcer. It is inevitable that continued heavy use of national parks by urban populations will ultimately result in irreparable damage to natural environment and landscape. National parks must be saved for the people’s needs and future generations.

We must come up with a two-prong approach that would provide natural environment (green space) for Korean people and also protect the ecosystem integrity of national parks. The approach requires both the expansion of green space for the public throughout the country and the application of ecosystem management in Korea’s national parks. The Government agencies with the leadership of President Kim Dae-jung and NGOs together immediately implement comprehensive measures for environmental restoration and land rehabilitation, such as building a network of greenways and biodiversity corridors throughout the land (Kim, K. C. 1995. Pages 1-30 in the Proceedings of the International Symposium). The national program must galvanize the environmental forces in different ministries and the public sector and include: 1) inventory and monitoring programs for natural ecosystem health; 2) stringent enforcement of the park management regulations and laws, including law enforcement power of park rangers; 3) limited use of endangered trails and habitats in the parks and limited entry to the parks; 4) professional training of park rangers for resource and ecosystem management; 5) professional training of NGO volunteers; and 6) public education. There is no easy solution to the massive problems caused by the people. Nevertheless, Korean people deserve to satisfy biophilia (human’s innate need of nature) in the natural environment and the Government must provide the natural sanctuary for the people.

[Professor and Director, Center for BioDiversity Research, The Pennsylvania State University; Chair, The DMZ Forum] (July 1, 2000)