"Seen a Wide-banded Sea Snake?"... Experience the Mysterious Ecosystem Online from Home

Kukrip Gongwon Gongdan, Online Hwabo Homepage Released

The beautiful world unfolding beneath the blue sea can now be comfortably viewed online at home without having to visit in person.

On the 15th, the Korea National Park Service announced the release of the "Together with the Sea National Park Online Photo Collection," which features high-resolution photos capturing the underwater ecosystems of marine and coastal national parks. The photo collection will be available on the Korea National Park Service website starting from the 16th.

The appearance of Gamtae and Jaridom featured in the Korea National Park Service's 'Together with the Sea National Park Online Photo Album.' [Photo by Korea National Park Service]

This photo collection was compiled by selecting marine life and underwater landscapes photographed by researchers from the National Park Research Institute during basic surveys of island and coastal ecological corridors in national parks, conducted from March last year through the end of the year. It was created to widely promote the rarely seen beautiful underwater world and the value of marine ecosystems in national parks.

The broad-banded sea snake featured in the Korea National Park Service's "Together with the Sea National Park Online Photo Album."
[Photo by Korea National Park Service]

The collection includes 100 pieces of data on 43 species of marine life and underwater landscapes, including 23 species of fish and 14 species of cnidarians inhabiting Hallyeohaesang and Dadohaehaesang National Parks. Among the 43 marine species, four are classified as endangered wild species class II corals: Dunanjinchongsan coral, Purple Sujimandrami, Yuchaknamudolsan coral, and Haesong.

Also featured is the underwater resting image of the Broad-banded Sea Snake, which was discovered for the first time in Korea during a survey of newly incorporated islands in Dadohaehaesang National Park last year. The presence of the Broad-banded Sea Snake in Dadohaehaesang is considered evidence that the seas around the Korean Peninsula are warming due to climate change.

Flower Gun Coral.
[Photo by National Park Research Institute]

The National Park Research Institute stated that through basic surveys of island and coastal ecological corridors, it is collecting data for managing island areas of national parks and tracking changes in marine life and ecosystems due to climate change.

The purple Celosia featured in the Korea National Park Service's 'Together with the Sea National Park Online Photo Album.' [Photo by Korea National Park Service]

Jung Yong-sang, director of the National Park Research Institute, said, "We expect this to be an opportunity to share the diverse marine life and the beauty of underwater landscapes in national parks with the public and to raise awareness of nature conservation for the preservation of marine ecosystems in national parks."

Among the 23 national parks, there are four marine and coastal parks that include the sea: Hallyeohaesang National Park, Taeanhaean National Park, Dadohaehaesang National Park, and Byeonsanbando National Park.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.