Is North Korea off limits for Inaturalist? and is it worth the trouble of photographing species there?

Nature Talk
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and i won’t listen, their not dreamers in the slightest they will never achieve their goals if the continue acting like this

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thats what i was sayin! some endemic species in the long run

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If you won’t listen, why even ask anyone’s opinion?

Also accusing people of not having dreams or being able to achieve them is… awfully reaching.

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i never asked for their opinions of my goals if were gonna be honest here

i asked for answers of North Korea

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but hey you ask all these people and ya get some bad ones eh?

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ah i understand where that was coming from you misread your own statement and i misread it too since you said “they’re” my bad but that included the guys who said my goal is impossible

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I will also chime in with the main conversation and say yes, although many endemic and rare species may be found there, North Korea is an extremely restricted country. Not sure if it’s true or not, but I’ve heard some people who go in don’t come out again. There are many, many other countries you can travel to and find species of all kinds. Even yet again, sorry for yet again using my own homeland as an example, we had a person here called Walter Scott. He lived here his whole life and travelled almost the whole archipelago in search of plant life along with many, many other people who shared his interest like Richard Palmer. Even before Walter’s time, botany has been an explored topic here since the 1700’s. Despite his immense devotion to botany till his death at the age of 70+, new, previously unknown plant species to the islands have cropped up even after his death in the late 2010s.

My point? I’m going to be real, finding every species on planet earth may take you a very long time, even for a single country, let alone a county/state. New species would be cropping up left right and centre that you’d have to go back and visit in various countries as new species are discovered quite frequently. It would be better off to travel to safer areas where you run little to no risk of say… having your brains literally blown out.

There are millions of species to find and estimates suggest lots are still undocumented in majorly tropical areas. Maybe you could be that person to document them? Lots of opportunities are still available aside from dangerous places like North Korea and places with ongoing conflicts. As many have already said, I’d agree that it’s not worth the risk of these places just for the sake of finding new species. Don’t let me put you off your goals though of finding every species, cool concept going!

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see the way you say it is less meanish
so thank you

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Hi, Cade:

To be clear, you are asking only for information regarding travel possibility, yes? Because you are

You do not seek opinions on your goal itself, correct?

With that in mind, may I kindly allow as to this perhaps may not be the right venue for that? By its very definition, iNaturalist is dedicated to nature rather than the safety of particular countries, etc. I think this is likely why others have offered their opinions from the perspective of nature.

If you look at the description of “Nature Talk”, the category where you posted this, you will see that it states, “This category is a catch-all for nature-related topics that aren’t directly related to iNaturalist. It’s not a place to get help with identifying your nature observations (that’s what iNaturalist itself is for!).”

If you click the “read more”, you will land here, which clarifies in even more detail what this category is – and is not – for.

I think people may be suggesting other places you could perhaps see high numbers of species or even many of the same species to try to bring your topic more in line with what the purpose of the forums are.

Some may express incredulity at your goal but when I read it, it reminded me greatly of a post I saw a few days ago about Pokemon and iNaturalist, of all things. I smiled and thought, “Ah, he wants to catch them all!”

Saludos from Mexico, where we have many wonderful species to explore,
Lucy

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it was just a question that has been answered many, many, many, many, many, many times

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i don’t need much of this hate from some of ya

as well as please scroll up!

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Cade, I feel like there is a significant lack of understanding going on. (Certainly I do not understand your responses.)

Having no desire to agitate you further and believing myself to have been as clear as possible, I wish you success and enjoyable travels to the Galapagos.

Be well.

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Out of curiosity, here are the species that are considered endemic to North Korea according to Living National Treasures, though I’ve found some inaccuracies and there are likely others:

  • Plestiodon coreensis (skink)

  • Misgurnus buphoensis (a loach, often considered conspecific with Misgurnus nikolskyi, but not on iNaturalist)

  • Gymnogobius bungei (a goby considered conspecific with Gymnogobius mororanus by iNaturalist and many other sources)

  • Nebria scaphelytra (ground beetle)

  • Synuchus coreanus (ground beetle)

  • Oedostethus pektusanicus (click beetle)

  • Selatosomus grandis (click beetle)

  • Atheta hamgyongsani (rove beetle)

  • Dinaraea koreana (rove beetle)

  • Chrysomela cyaneoviridis (leaf beetle)

  • Ceutorhynchus murzini (weevil)

  • Loxoblemmus spectabilis (cricket)

  • Psallus amoenus (plant bug, recorded from South Korea several times on iNaturalist)

  • Uhlerites gracilis (lace bug, considered conspecific with regional Uhlerities debilis on iNaturalist)

  • Rhyacophila kumgangsanica (caddisfly)

  • Athaumasta koreana (moth)

  • Rivula dubitatrix (moth, considered conspecific with the widespread Rivula sericealis on iNaturalist)

  • Calythea paektusana (fly)

  • Temnothorax cuneinodis (ant)

  • Temnothorax michali (ant, though recorded from South Korea several times on iNaturalist)

  • Janusius geumgangensis (springtail)

  • Oncopodura yosiiana (springtail)

  • Acopauropus szeptyckii (pauropod)

  • Lithobius mroczkowskii (centipede)

  • Skleroprotopus costatus (centipede)

  • Coreovitrea mroczkowskii (land snail)

  • Bryhnia alpicola (moss)

  • Tripterocladium coreanum (moss)

100+ vascular plant species, including:

  • Pulsatilla nivalis (pasque flower, though recorded from South Korea and nearby countries several times on iNaturalist)
  • Pseudostellaria baekdusanensis
  • Rheum coreanum (rhubarb)
  • Callianthemum insigne
  • Forsythia nakaii
  • Silene myongcheonensis (catchfly)
  • Thalictrum osmorhizoides (meadow-rue)
  • Potentilla coreana
  • Spiraea pseudocrenata
  • Euphrasia coreanalpina
  • Saussurea komaroviana
  • Astragalus setsureianus
  • Pedicularis nigrescens
  • Carex ochrochlamys (sedge)
  • Alnus vermicularis (alder)
  • Salix cacuminis (willow)
  • Picea pungsanensis (spruce)
  • Pentactina rupicola

As others have noted, documenting new species for iNat can be achieved in most parts of the world with varying degrees of difficulty. I share the desire to find as many species as possible, but I can attest that with dedication, it is possible to find species new to iNaturalist and new to science in areas that pose far less personal risk.

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thanks

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why was this flagged???

out of everything i said THIS gets flagged?

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Don’t get me wrong, i’m sure there is some neat ecology there, as with most places. But i think of California in the USA as a geographic equivalent if not the same climate and maybe similar topography. Due to the mountains, there is more differentiation by altitude than latitude. Despite high rates of endemism there are few things in the northern half of California that can’t be found either in the southern half of California or in Oregon. (though the Klamath Mountains are hard to beat for conifer diversity). Given the Korean peninsula is half the size of California it’s probably true there too.

I do wish i could see that endemic willow though. But i haven’t even found all the willow species in Vermont yet so…

Otherwise, i guess we just hope things improve so someday North Korea is open to the world and their regime not so oppressive. I’m the first to admit that my country, the United States, has plenty of problems and is not as rosy as it’s made out to be by some, but for sure North Korea’s government is in its own league of awful.

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Yea California is a goal of mine due to how MANY species you have

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Closer to home, the coastal plain around the Gulf of Mexico is considered a global biodiversity hotspot that might be easier (and safer) to get to for observations. Check out the map on the Wikipedia page and note the blue regions that have been added to the original green ones.

You could also come explore the Southern Appalachians. Our area was ranked top priority for conservation in a paper looking at biodiversity hotspots outside of already protected areas in the US. Lots of endemics around here - some plants are limited to just a handful of mountain peaks - and probably still some undiscovered species lurking in these mountains as well as some that haven’t been seen in decades awaiting rediscovery. (Plus, our climate is much more pleasant, not as hot and humid as further south.)

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I assumed that you got my post having 50% sense of humor. I wasn’t trying to educate anyone with facts about anything NK. So sorry that you have endured the urge to shut me off.
Let’s all feel better now.

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Here’s my best advice:

  1. Invest in a decent portable moth-trap. That will get you a large number of nocturnal creatures (not just moths) everywhere you go.

  2. Figure out (if you haven’t already) how you will deal with creatures that require microscopic treatment - and indeed wholly microscopic creatures. That opens a large door to a much greater diversity of life.

  3. Break the task down into smaller goals so that you can strategise/prioritise and begin to shape how this goal will actually motivate you (since you state that you know it is impossible but aspirational). For example, 13000 new species are described every year, so 13000 lifers per year is what you need just in order not to end the year further from your goal than you started. That in itself would be an utterly monumental achievement, even just for one year.

  4. Have fun. Make sure that your goal remains a servant to you, and doesn’t become your master - it may be an epic motivational servant, but it could easily become a very cruel master. If it stops being fun or takes over your life, stop.

  5. As others have said there is plenty to keep you occupied for your entire life in easy to reach places. Don’t hurry to the hard places, instead play the long game. The NK regime might be different in a few decades’ time, and you can pop over and see those relatively few species that you can’t see in South Korea or China (not that China is particularly easy either at the moment). Wait and see, and meanwhile pile on the numbers somewhere else.

  6. Remember, continents will give you a larger number of species, but islands will give you a higher proportion of new species. Don’t neglect islands.

I’m sure you’ve already thought of much of that, but all the best with your endeavours wherever they take you.

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