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8. [[underlined]] Historial Background: [[/underlined]]

The Demilitarized Zone in Korea was established in 1953. It is an area 248 km long by 4 km wide. A Buffer Zone about 8 km in width lies contiguous to the DMZ on the south. The entire area has been free from cultivation since 1950. Approximately the western half of the zone, a lowland area, had been intensively cultivated prior to the Korean war; whereas the eastern portion, which is hilly to mountainous, was covered in large part with pine forests and cultivated only in suitable valleys.

Crops formerly cultivated in the DMZ included rice, grown in paddy fields, and vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage, cucumbers, corn, and tomatoes grown along with grains other than rice in well-drained fields. Since these fields were well fertilized with manure, the soils were not improverished at the time cultivation was abandoned. During the past 15 years, grasses, forbs, shrubs, and some oak trees have grown up in the former vegetable fields; and the paddy fields are now covered with grasses and trees such as poplar and acacia. Seemingly, the former pine forests of the mountainous areas are changing to oak forests.

As might be anticipated, the abundance of birds and mammals feeding on grains dropped sharply; and both the variety and abundance of insectivorous birds and their predators increased within the zone over the past 15 years. Wild boar and Korean deer have increased markedly; and the Korean tiger, which is probably exinct in South Korea, may now occur in the DMZ. Among the more conspicuous birds that have increased in numbers are the Korean crane, white-naped crane, Japanese crested ibis, Japanese stork, black stork, spoonbill, Tristram woodpecker, swan, ring-necked pheasant, and magpie.

On the basis of the preliminary surveys made by Korean scientists in December 1965 and May 1966, the following areas in the Buffer Zone were selected for intensive study:

(1) [[underlined]] Punch-uk-kol [[/underlined]] (37° 55'; 126° 40'). This area, located near the west end of the DMZ about 30 miles from Seoul, was intensively cultivated for rice and vegetables prior to the war. The U. S. Army controls this area, and the Korean Army controls the following three areas.

(2) [[underlined]] Myojan-dong [[/underlined]] (38° 17'; 127° 10'). Located almost in the central part of the DMZ about 60 miles from Seoul, this area was intensively disturbed and almost completely destroyed as a result of heavy combat during the war.

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