Munseom and Beomseom Islands Natural Reserve

Munseom and Beomseom are two of five uninhabited islands near Seogwipo, lying about 1.3 km south of the Seogwipo coast. Unlike Jeju Island's underlying basalt, Munseom and Beomseom are formed of trachyte. Across both islands, vertically developed columnar joints — rock split into regular columns — together with cliffs and caves formed by wave erosion, create a beautiful landscape. Munseom is home to 118 species of land plants, including colonies of the shrubs Elaeagnus glabra and Elaeagnus macrophylla, which grow naturally only on Jeju Island, as well as Machilus thunbergii, the habitat tree of the black wood pigeon. Beomseom supports a total of 142 plant species, including Osmanthus insularis of the olive family, which grows naturally only on Geomundo Island and Jeju Island. Along the shore grow a total of 111 species of coastal algae — green, brown and red algae — together with numerous other new and previously unrecorded plant species. Among marine invertebrates, 2 of the 13 sponge species recorded were species not previously recorded in Korea, and previously unrecorded species were also found among echinoderms (5 species), hydrozoan cnidarians (5 species), anthozoans and corals (17 species), bryozoans (11 species) and tunicates (1 species), as well as 3 of 12 bivalve species and 8 of 23 crustacean species. The Munseom and Beomseom Natural Reserve is scenically beautiful, is home to Machilus thunbergii, a globally rare tree, and marks the southern limit of the breeding range of the black wood pigeon, itself a natural monument. It is also a site of great academic value where numerous new and previously unrecorded species of marine life endemic to Korea occur, representative of the biodiversity of species with southern affinities, and it has accordingly been designated and protected as a natural monument. Munseom and Beomseom are currently designated as areas with restricted public access for their protection, and anyone wishing to enter for management or academic purposes must first obtain the permission of the Administrator of the Korea Heritage Service.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seogwipo, Jeju

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물