Birds’ Monastery

Cutting the Korean peninsula at its waist, and dividing the two Koreas as a border- barrier, the 250km-long and 4km-wide Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a tragic place, permitting entry to no one since the Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953. It is a place overflowing with tense hostility, and yet also, strangely, where the peacefulness of nature has been preserved. In this wild land, one cannot help contemplating life and existence. Then again, a monastery is the perfect location from which to do so. Few can visit this quiet monastery, but it is a lovely space for the birds to stay. Observing the ecology of these birds and nurturing their habitat here would be a good idea. Men and artificial facilities, however, must be forbidden. Hence, the structures built here should be temporary and made from biodegradable materials. The habitat that once existed here will be remembered by many, and maybe that memory is the only truth to be relied upon.