Birds Korea: Rivers of Life

The outline of the Korean Peninsula, with its mountainous pine-clad spine, is said to resemble a crouching tiger. It is a shape carved by nature and by the rise and fall of seas through a succession of ice ages. Over more recent millennia, the ancient meanderings of the Han, Geum, Yeongsan and Nakdong Rivers have helped create, centimeter by centimeter, fertile marshes and estuaries rich with plant and animal life.

As each year and season has progressed, these four rivers have risen and fallen, flowed or frozen. The abundance of plant and animal species has always followed a natural rhythm and helped sustain the growth of the human population. At first, homes and villages were clumped around hills and nestled among bamboo stands and persimmon trees. Later, they emerged as urban high-rises. And with the continuing expansion of cities like Seoul, Incheon, Busan and Mokpo, many of the rivers’ marshes and tidal flats too have been converted – first into a quilt work of rice fields and now increasingly to suburban space, ports and airports.

Four-fifths of the national population now lives within cities. For much of the time, our climate is artificial and controlled; our seasons and landscapes greyly uniform. It seems increasingly difficult for us to sense the vital role natural habitats and biodiversity play in our lives, even though other species maintain our planet’s atmosphere, provide us with food and contribute to human culture.

Take the Red-crowned Crane (두루미) for example. This is a common species – but only in East Asian art. Along with its kind, the Red-crowned Crane is a bird species of wetlands. Their long legs enable them to wade through shallows; their long necks to see danger coming from afar; and their dagger-like bills are perfectly adapted both for catching small animals and also for digging up the roots of aquatic plants.

All the same, the black-and-white Red-crowned Crane is most often depicted perched atop gnarled black pines. This is because traditional artists chose to express the value of the landscapes around them to human life. For them, the pine trees symbolized strength and also provided building materials. The cranes came to symbolize long life. These were birds that were found only in the most naturally productive and healthy wetlands – places of water, with fish and rice. In such places, with both food and shelter, people could live long and healthy lives.

While the Red-crowned Crane’s popularity remains high (including a starring role in the movie Kung Fu Panda), its actual population has declined dramatically. With the loss and degradation of wetlands here and throughout much of East Asia, the Red-crowned Crane is now globally endangered. Only 1,650 remain worldwide, with a third of these spending the winter here in Korea.

There is still time to learn from the wisdom of the past and the science of the present. There is still time to appreciate and conserve the beauty and value of the natural world around us.

For more on Korea’s birdlife and natural environment, please visit: www.birdskorea.org