- Water, Nature and Humankind
- Natural Meeting
-
Becoming a Guardian of the Seocheon Mudflats
Seocheon Eco-tourism
Council Chairman
Lee Myung-won- Written by.Choi Hang-jwa
- Photographed by.Kim Beom-ki
- We all know that the ecological environment is important, but this does not actually make it any easier to protect it. Still, there is one special person who takes the lead and sets a good example in the belief that the environment is an immediate issue for him and his family. “Environmental protection is not just a good deed that comes to mind once in a while,” says Lee Myung-won, chairman of the Seocheon Ecotourism Council.
I believe that if people pay more
attention and play a bigger role,
the Seocheon mudflat
will be better protected
and become healthier.
Preserving the Ecological Environment Is Everyone’s Duty!
Ever since ancient times, Seocheon-gun has benefited greatly from its mudflats. It has provided webfoot octopus, clams, and even crabs, serving as a pillar of the local community. However, reckless development and environmental pollution have resulted in an ever decreasing number of living creatures in the Seocheon mudflat. Chairman Lee considered this to be a matter of great regret, and has long strived to protect the ecological environment of the Seocheon mudflat.
“The mudflat reveals a wide and flat stretch of land twice a day when the seawater recedes at low tide. When I was young, I used to catch a basket full of clams at the mudflat. Now, it’s difficult to find clams even in the deeper parts of the mudflat. This shows how much the biodiversity of the Seocheon mudflat has decreased.”
Mr. Lee started to take an interest in Seocheon's precious environment after working as a natural environment interpreter. He did not merely empathize with the environmental situation, but put his beliefs it into action. He started to pick up trash, gather like-minded people with the same purpose, and carry out conservation activities. That is how the Seocheon Ecotourism Council began in 2015. The Seocheon Ecotourism Council, which is composed of natural environment interpreters, does not just pick up garbage, but also gets actively involved in protecting the environment with biodiversity in mind. “In 2013, Seocheon-gun was selected as the first local government to train natural environment interpreters, and I was among the first interpreters. The training naturally led me to develop an interest in the environment. The little-known Yubu Island is a habitat for migratory birds. It is truly a treasure of Seocheon. I have been working together with the members to protect the ecological environment here.”
You can reach Yubudo Island by taking a small fishing boat for about 20minutes from Janghang Port in Seocheon-gun. It is a small island about a quarter of the size of Yeouido in Seoul. When all the seawater recedes, you can finally see a vast mudflat that is twenty times the size of the island. Every year, more than 40,000 migratory birds visit the island, the vast mudflat and the clean natural environment at the point where the estuary meets the sea. It is even more special as it serves as a stopover for certain endangered species such as the oystercatcher, the great knot, the spoon-billed sandpiper, the Chinese egret, and the Saunders's gull, as well as migratory birds designated as natural monuments.
The members of the Seocheon Ecotourism Council, including Chairman Lee, monitor the migratory birds once a month and regularly conduct cleaning activities on Yubudo Island.
Let's Start with What I Can Do!
Chairman Lee is involved in a wide variety of activities. He picks up trash whenever he has time, not only in the mudflat but everywhere, because it is the best thing that he can do at that moment.
He said that he felt a lot while picking up trash and that his daily life has changed greatly thanks to his volunteer work. The more he got involved in environmental activities, the more convinced he became, thinking that he would let others know, too.
So he started an environmental education for residents. After becoming the head of the village of Mayang, he decided to start by transforming his village into a clean village’. As such, he installed a separate garbage discharge point at the entrance to the village and launched a campaign to protect the groundwater. He has been removing exotic species that disturb the ecosystem together with the village youth group in order to protect the environment and clean up the Sinseongni Reed Field.
The village has become noticeably cleaner, and the residents now show an increased level of environmental consciousness. This has put the village at the top rank of clean and beautiful rural villages. Mayang won the silver prize in the 4th Clean and Beautiful Rural Village Contest hosted by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation last year. These are just some of the ways in which Mr. Lee has exerted a positive influence on his neighbors.
Opening the Geumgang Estuary Bank to Save the Seocheon Mudflat
“In July of last year, Korea’s Mudflats, incuding the Seocheon mudflats, were registered as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The mudflats have long been a part of our daily life, so a crisis in the mudflats could soon lead to a crisis in our lives.”
Chiarman Lee says that the Geumgang Estuary Bank needs to be opened as soon as possible to fully vitalize the mudflats. Once it is opened, the river and seawater will be able to circulate properly, thereby recovering the estuary ecosystem. He believes that if people pay more attention and play a bigger role, the Seocheon mudflat will be better protected and become healthier.
As the head of the Seocheon Ecotourism Council, he is also devising a new plan for this year that comprises a vision to include local residents who are interested in the environment in the Seocheon Ecotourism Tourism Council, as well as interpreters for a wider variety of activities. In addition, he plans to share environment-related information through a network in which twenty-nine ecotourism areas across the country participate. I hope that his wish will come true so that more and more people become aware of the need to protect the ecological environment and put it into practice.
※ This interview was conducted in accordance with the COVID-19 safety rules.
Seocheon Ecotourism Council
A consultative body composed of natural environment interpreters in Seocheon-gun.
The Council has played an important role in informing ecotourists of the importance of ecotourism resources by building a regional ecotourism infrastructure with the area’s rich ecological, historical, and rural resources. The Council has also been carrying out various cleanup activities and campaigns to protect the precious ecological environment.
