Biyangdo Island had been violently damaged by wild black goats and residents were suffering losses.
The Biyangdo vegetation recovery project that began one year ago is producing good results. The island is becoming greener and full of flowers.
Mike Laidman reports.

Biyangdo Island off the coast of Jeju features a rich history estimated to have begun about one thousand years ago.

Some 50 years ago, black goats were taken to the island and raised there.
It wasn’t long before the rapidly-multiplying animals outgrew their new home and began to destroy the small island’s vegetation.

One year ago, the island started a restoration project, with every wild goat having since been captured.

The once-naked peak of the island has grown green again.

The well-worn trails the goats used to frequent are now covered in thick vegetation and beautiful wild flowers.

Indigenous plants, including the island's native mulberry, mandarin melon berry, and thistle, are coming back.



Even the crater on the island, where the wild goats used to do a lot of their grazing, is slowly recovering.

Overall, the island’s vegetation is coming back thicker and greener than it has in years.

Even the village has become more open and friendly.

Residents have torn down the fences that they had set up to protect their houses from the goats, which aren’t too picky with their diets.
And in their gardens, green vegetables are growing.


After 50 years of goat inhabitation, the now goat-free island of Biyangdo is reclaiming its beauty and charm.
Mike Laidman, KCTV