Traditionally an agricultural society that depends on fertile soil, clean water, and temperate climate, Koreans' lives were closely associated with nature. Nature not only provided the means of subsistence but was also a source of cultural and spiritual inspiration. Korean people valued their natural surroundings and provisions with a degree of reverence and refrained from extracting natural resources beyond their immediate needs.

With the wave of modernization in the late 1900s, however, the way people approach nature began to change. Although the vast majority remained in awe of nature, those at the forefront of national development began embracing the view that the environment is an object to be conquered and used to one's own advantage. Trees were cut down, factories were built, and pesticides sprayed for better productivity in disregard for their impact on the environment. The perspective underlying such activities continued onto the 1970s, when Korea carried out massive structural reforms in social and economic domains to join the ranks of advanced countries.

In the 1980s, Korea came to see the environmental sacrifices that were made during the industrializing process. When people attained a high enough standard of living to stop and take a rest, clean water, blue sky, and lush mountains, which they long prided themselves on, were no longer there. Dozens of civil environmental movements sprang up and public outcry against reckless development projects reverberated throughout the nation. Strong governmental actions followed, resulting in a gradual reverse in the downward spiral of Korea's environment. With keen public interest and participation, environmental policies promise to make headway in reviving the nature and passing a healthy and productive Mother Earth on to future generations in Korea.



Legal Background

As a means of dealing with environmental pollution, the government enacted the Pollution Prevention Law, the nation's first environmental legislation, in 1963. This statute sought to enhance the quality of life by preventing air, water, noise and vibration pollution from factories and construction sites. However, due to the prevailing social atmosphere that prioritized economic growth over environmental protection, the law failed to produce its desired effects.
Recognizing the limits of the Pollution Prevention Law in meeting the ever-increasing environmental challenges, the government replaced it with the Environment Preservation Act in 1977. The Environment Preservation Act introduced environmental impact assessment, environmental standards and total pollution load management, with a view to improving the natural environment and ensuring the well-being of future generations.

As industrialization accelerated and economy advanced, environmental problems grew more complex and diversified and so did people's demand for a pleasant environment. To address this, the government guaranteed environmental rights in the Constitution in 1980, and a decade later, divided Korea's environmental law into six specialized laws in the areas of air quality protection, water quality protection, noise and vibration control, hazardous chemical substances management, and environmental dispute resolution. These were followed by a series of laws on biodiversity and ecosystem preservation, including wetlands, national parks and wildlife, as well as soil and waste management. As of 2002, there are 33 environmental laws under the directive of the Ministry of Environment, the chief governmental body for environmental preservation.


Institutional Development

The Ministry of Environment dates back to 1967 when the air pollution control team was organized in the Ministry of Health and Welfare. With increasing concerns about the environment, the central government established a separate environmental protection agency in 1980. In 1986, six regional environmental administration offices were established to ensure compliance with federal policies and to facilitate the development of locality-specific environmental measures. In order to give coherence to a wide range of environmental policies administered by different ministries, the government promoted the Environmental Agency to ministry status accountable to the Prime Minister in 1990. At the same time, local environmental offices were upgraded to local agencies. In 1994, the Ministry of Environment attained a full ministry status, capable of making its own decrees.

In line with greater public commitment to environmental protection, numerous environmental research and development centers were created under the Ministry in the 1980s and 90s such as the Korea Environment Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Research. These institutes make recommendations for policies and environmental standards, evaluate ongoing environmental measures, develop inspections criteria, offer capacity-building courses, etc. Along with the evolving public voice, scientific observations of such institutes form the basis for environmental policy direction and implementation. The Ministry of Environment also oversees the work of the Central Environmental Disputes Coordination Commission, which began addressing public environmental concerns and complaints in 1991.

Although the majestic natural beauty that once characterized the Land of Morning Calm partially lost its sparkle in the waves of industrialization, proactive government measures and public environmental consciousness promise a bright future for the environment. Integrated precautionary environmental policies buttressed by sophisticated clean production technologies are expected to bring down pollution emissions in the near future, allowing natural ecosystems to flourish again and the sky to recover its fine hues. Increasing public demand and worldwide expectations for each country to perform clean-up duties tantamount to its national status reinforces Korea's environmental protection efforts.

Although the majestic natural beauty that once characterized the Land of Morning Calm partially lost its sparkle in the waves of industrialization, proactive government measures and public environmental consciousness promise a bright future for the environment. Integrated precautionary environmental policies buttressed by sophisticated clean production technologies are expected to bring down pollution emissions in the near future, allowing natural ecosystems to flourish again and the sky to recover its fine hues. Increasing public demand and worldwide expectations for each country to perform clean-up duties tantamount to its national status reinforces Korea's environmental protection efforts.