Hallasan, Chenju Island, South Korea Photograph by Ko Gil Hong   Eastern Asia: Southern tip of the Korean Peninsula Temperate Broadleaf and Mixed Forests   5,700 square miles (14,700 square kilometers) -- about the size of Hawaii Critical/Endangered

· The Birds and the Trees
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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The Birds and the Trees

White-bellied black woodpeckers, ring-necked pheasants, and colorful fairy pittas are among the many birds that visit Southern Korea's evergreen forests for all or some of the year. These forests are rich in trees and shrubs. And they provide hospitable conditions even in the cold season to a diversity of birds, mammals, and other creatures.

Special Features

The evergreen forests that grow across the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula look a lot like the mountain forests that stretch across much of Asia. Laurel and chestnut trees grow in association with oaks, tea trees, and many other plants. Cold, dry winters alternate with warm, wet summers, yielding a great diversity of plant life. Although much of the original evergreen forest of this region has been cut down for agriculture, excellent examples remain, especially in protected areas on the peninsula and on Cheju, a volcanic island to Korea's south.

	The large body size of red-crowned cranes helps them to survive the chilly winter conditions on the Korean Peninsula.

Wild Side

You won't find a lot of large mammals in Korea's evergreen forests. That’s because the wild boar, deer, and wild cats that once lived on Cheju Island, for example, have all disappeared. But roe deer, weasels, hamsters, and bats still inhabit the island, along with more than 200 species of birds. And in the evergreen forests of the southern Korean Peninsula live 130 freshwater fish species, 14 amphibians, 25 reptiles, and 379 birds. Among the bird species are two endangered cranes: the red-crowned crane and white-naped crane.

Cause for Concern

Agricultural lands have replaced forests across much of this region, contributing to declines in biodiversity. The remaining evergreen forests lie mostly on mountains and hills. And the best forest stands lie in protected areas (called natural monuments in Korea), such as Ulsan, Hampyeong, and Naejang-san.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.