Moon Bears on Mt. Jirisan

Lee Ho-sin | Artist of Korean Painting

According to the “Legend of Dangun,” the legendary founder of Korea, the mother of all Korean descendants was a bear named “Ungnyeo,” even though we actually know very little about bears. Although I have enjoyed ecological tourism for many years, it was in 2010 when I first saw a moon bear (Asian black bear) in person at the Species Restoration Technology Institute (run by the Korean National Park Service) in Gurye-gun County. Thanks to the kindness of the staff there, I was able to sketch moon bears all day, and came to realize the value of the pristine nature on Mt. Jirisan and the importance of species restoration. Perhaps that first encounter was not by chance? I also learned there are many old ink paintings of tigers and cats, but not many of bears. To compensate for this lack of resources, I visited the Institute again.

The moon bear gets its name from the patch of white fur on its chest which resembles a half moon. At present, we know there are 27 moon bears living in the wild on Mt. Jirisan. I observed and drew some moon bears released by the Institute. I am truly grateful for the bears being there because they enliven nature and nature enlivens them.

Moon bears are very adroit at breaking branches because they usually live on the fruits and nuts of broadleaf trees like oak. These broken branches allow more light to reach the forest floor, six times more than broken branches left after a storm. And the seeds in their excrement germinate and grow into new trees, contributing to a diverse and healthy forest. According to researchers at the Institute, they planted the seeds of wild cherry trees collected from bear droppings and seeds they picked from cherry trees. They found the germination rate was higher in the seeds from bear droppings. That is why bears are dubbed “caretakers of the forest” or “farmers of the forest.” That is also why the Institute is dedicated to restoring moon bears to their natural habitat, in the hope that they can adapt to nature themselves, raise offspring, and live in a symbiotic relationship with nature.

Survival of a Moon Bear

There is one obstacle to this. In order to prevent the indiscriminate hunting of bears for their gall bladders (used in traditional oriental medicine), China and Korea allowed the establishment of “bear farms.” Some Korean environmental organizations are campaigning to outlaw this practice. They also want to be free of the stigma that Korea allows bears to be raised to harvest their gall bladders. The difficulty in doing this is the existence of 1,400 bears still in captivity (as of 2010). However, the government doesn’t have the money to buy up all these bears. This reality makes it difficult for us to view bears as our “Ungnyeo Mother” and the cute little bears that appear in fairy tales. These “bear farms,” established as a temporary expedient to satisfy human greed and prevent overhunting, should cause us to rethink what we have done.

Moon bears should be roaming the mountains, diligently collecting and eating wild grapes, Asian kiwis, and acorns to store up enough energy for the upcoming winter hibernation. This keeps both mama and baby bears busy. While sketching bears one day, one of them stood up on his hind legs to pick a fruit, and the way it stood reminded me of a human form. My heart flinched. Then I heard the bear roaring what might have been. “Look, all you humans! I am a bear!”

Lee Ho-sin (pen name Hyeonseok) has released artworks and writings that emphasize the essence of interdependent living. He has put on 15 solo exhibitions and published books in Korean including: “Picture Diary Written on the Road” and “The Heart Yearning for the Forest”.