That line comes from the novel "Anne of Green Gables," when Anne names a geranium on the windowsill. The moment it has a name, it becomes more than just one plant among many. Naming something can be a gentle promise to care for it and stay with it.
Underwater, South Korea has many places still waiting for that kind of attention: "sea forests." Sea forests are underwater areas where seaweeds such as kelp, Ecklonia and sea mustard grow in clusters, creating habitat for a wide range of marine life. They serve as feeding grounds and spawning and nursery areas, while absorbing carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen and helping clean the marine environment.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it created 375 square kilometers (145 square miles) of sea forests from 2009 through last year, an area more than half the size of Seoul. The term compares coastal seaweed beds that grow in sunlit waters to forests on land. Fish use these areas as spawning grounds and nurseries. They were previously referred to as seaweed grounds or seaweed forests, but the ministry said the term "sea forest" is now used.
The sea forests built so far are large enough to absorb 127,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to emissions from 52,000 cars, the ministry said. In sea forests completed in 17 waters including Yeosu and Pohang from 2022 to 2025, a species-diversity index used to indicate ecosystem health rose 64.1% compared with before construction, it said.
Even so, many of these sites have been recorded in project reports only by coordinates and administrative place names, such as the "Donghae Mukho sea forest" and the "Jeju Aewol-ri sea forest." The ministry contrasted that with well-known land forests and mountains that are remembered and protected by name.
The ministry said places without names can be easier to overlook. When a sea forest is managed only as a set of coordinates, it can quickly fade from public memory after it is built.
To change that, the ministry said it will launch a project called "Sea Forests, Adding Names" with Hyundai Motor Co. and the Korea Fisheries Resources Agency, both of which participate in sea-forest construction. The goal is to publicize sea forests and elevate them as places the public continues to watch and manage, described as a kind of "companion space."
The first name created through the project is "Ullim," for a sea forest built in waters off Ulsan's Jujeon area. The ministry said the name carries the meaning of a "new forest of Ulsan" (蔚林) and reflects Hyundai employees' hope that the sea forest's recovery of marine ecosystems will spread as a powerful resonance.
On May 10, Marine Planting Day, the ministry said the "Ullim sea forest" will also appear on map apps, turning an unnamed seaweed cluster into something more familiar, like a friend or neighbor.
The ministry said the naming project is expected to expand into a global campaign, including in Argentina and Australia. South Korea designated May 10 as Marine Planting Day in 2012, the first in the world, to promote protection of marine ecosystems and awareness of the risks of ocean desertification. The ministry said it hopes the effort to name sea forests will help spur care and protection of sea forests worldwide.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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