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Yeouido Hangang Park · 🦅

A Demolished Island Comes Back to Life as a Wetland

Bamseom Island, once destroyed by demolition, has naturally regrown through sediment buildup and new vegetation, becoming a rare urban bird sanctuary.

Key takeaways

After the demolition destroyed Bamseom Island, sediment gradually rebuilt through the river's currents, and trees and grasses grew thick, allowing plants like silver grass and willow species to take root naturally. Fact On August 10, 1999, the city of Seoul designated Bamseom Island a protected ecological landscape conservation area, and in 2012 it was registered as a wetland under the Ramsar Convention (an international treaty on wetland conservation). Fact The number of bird species recorded on Bamseom grew from 28 in 2007 to 33 in 2010, and fish species grew from 37 to 39 over the same period. Fact

What to look for on site

Editorial note

It's inaccurate to say "Bamseom Island has always been untouched nature." Establish the process: it was destroyed by demolition, then naturally regenerated over time.