Ryk Jong-soon oversees a hive on a farm near the demilitarized border zone, in Paju-si, Republic of Korea. The area is close to the heavily fortified “armistice line” that separates the two Koreas, and is a biodiverse landscape. About two dozen Korean honeybee farmers work here, within a six-mile-wide strip of green dotted with rice paddies, forests, cemeteries and shooting ranges next to the 71-year-old demilitarized zone, known as the Civilian Control Zone, which is heavily militarized and closed to most civilians. The work hasn’t made them rich, but the honey tastes great, thanks in large part to the area’s extraordinary biodiversity. The border zone that separates the two Koreas is about an hour’s drive from Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, a city of nearly 10 million people.
This is no ordinary place to work. When Korean farmers enter, they pass through a military checkpoint along the Imjin River, where they present special identification cards that allow them to work only within the zone, not to stay overnight, after zigzagging across the river on a heavily fortified bridge named for a fallen American soldier in the Korean War. Although there are restrictions on movement in the area, bees are not. In fact, they have benefited from the thriving wildlife for decades, with flowers that provide a diverse mix of nectar and pollen.
(Photo courtesy of The New York Times)
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