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| Red-crowned cranes in Cheorwon Korea Times file |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Environmental activists have lodged an ecological destruction claim against Cheorwon County in Gangwon Province, claiming a theme park under construction will affect the country's largest red-crowned crane habitat and other endangered species.
The county government denied the accusation.
The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM) on June 23 criticized the historical tourism venue being built next to the ruins of the Cheorwon Korean Workers' Party Headquarters that had been on North Korean territory from 1946 until the Korean War.
The venue in Sayo-ri is the centerpiece of a 70,000-square-meter park planned to contain pavilions exhibiting the village's history ― from the Japanese occupation to the post-war era and preserved local ecology near the inter-Korean border.
KFEM argued that the ongoing construction that began in 2018 will threaten the region's renowned red-crowned crane habitat near the border and leopard cats. Both are national treasures and endangered species. The group demanded the 18.7 billion won ($16 million) project be reconsidered.
The county ignored the annual wildlife mating season from March to June and continued construction, the group said. KFEM also criticized the local government's monorail project connecting the park to an observatory on top of nearby Mount Soyo, because its noise will "obviously" affect wildlife in the area.
"For the Cheorwon government and local residents to live a mutually sustainable life, the paddy fields that are the region's precious assets have to be protected," the KFEM said, mentioning that rice paddies are also important spots for cranes.
"Cranes coming to the fields during migration carries an internationally significant meaning. That's why the theme park must be reconsidered."
KFEM also defended a local farmer who has been in a years-long legal fight with the county government over ownership of some farmland where the park is being built. The group said the authority "ignored the 87-year-old woman's petition not to deprive her of her agricultural means of life and forced the construction."
"Rice paddies produce our food and surviving rights of that farmer must be protected," the group said.
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| Runners participating in the 2018 Cheorwon DMZ International Peace Marathon pass in front of the Cheorwon Korean Workers' Party Headquarters in Cheorwon County's Sayo-ri, Sept. 9. Korea Times file |
The Cheorwon government said KFEM's report was written from a heavily biased view and branded it as a "lie."
Lee Ji-won, the government's tourism development division official who manages the construction, told The Korea Times the county has abided by an environmental impact assessment conducted in 2018. He said it basically allowed the Cheorwon government to proceed with construction.
"If the environmental report found something meaningful, it typically would advise us outright against any land development," Lee said. "But the 2018 report didn't advise us so."
A small-scale environmental impact assessment on the theme park's site was done by the province's Wonju Regional Environmental Office. It took the job instead of the Ministry of Environment because of the project's relatively small scale, Lee said.
The Korea Times acquired the report, which confirmed the presence of leopard cats after discovering their excrement at the construction site. The report also expressed concern the animals might appear at the site.
But instead of banning construction, the report "recommended avoiding the mating season and minimizing environmental impact by reducing particulate matter generated throughout the construction."
The report also concluded it was not necessary to halt the construction to preserve the animals. "The animals, which seem to move around the site and nearby areas, will naturally avoid the physically sketchy scenes and detour to ecologically safer areas where they could be active," it said.
The report showed the assessment and construction were approved by Cheorwon County chief Lee Hyun-jong.
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| Leopard cats are designated a second-class endangered wildlife species in South Korea. Wikipedia Commons |
Lee said Cheorwon has much wildlife ― other than leopard cats and cranes ― like boars and water deer, so the environmental authority "cannot restrict land development projects every time there is an animal concern."
"The Wonju environmental office and the environment ministry pay particular attention to the cranes in Cheorwon and, whenever there is any development project that might affect the birds' habitats, they handle it carefully," Lee said.
"But the ongoing theme park project raised no such concerns. The cranes aren't spotted only at the human-designated habitats. They fly all over the county. If the activists want to protect them the way they insist, no land development should be allowed anywhere in the county, which is absurd."
The county has often seen "ecological disturbances" ― as KFEM claims ― including many outdoor events in front of the region's symbolic Korean Workers' Party Headquarters, Lee said.
But he said there is no reason to abort the theme park, not even because of the current ecological status.
Lee also said the Cheorwon government had offered compensation to the owners of seven lots of farmland on the theme park site, before depositing the money with the court.
He also mentioned the county's legal dispute with the woman, saying decisions have been in favor of the former and the government remains "legally prudent."
"The monorail business has been placed out to tender and the theme park construction will take shape by around the end of 2021," Lee said.
