Collected 750,000 butterflies in Korea and named distinguished name to 248 species of Korean butterflies
Butterfly researcher who lived with passion raising ethnic pride in the Japanese colonial era
(Late) Seok Joo-Myung
(1908~1950)
- Academic background
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1926
Graduated Songdo High School in Gaeseong
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1926 ~ 1929
Graduated department of agriculture, Kagoshima Agricultural High School, Japan
- Professional career
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1943
Head of Jeju Laboratory, Kyungsung Imperial University Annex Herbal Medicine Research Institute
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1945
Head of Pathological Insect Department, Suwon Agricultural Station
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1946
Head of Zoology Department, National Science Museum
A biologist who prepared the base of study on butterfly in Korea
Joo Myung Seok is a pioneering biologist who prepared the base of study on butterfly in Korea. During collection travel for about 20 years from the early 1930s to the 1950s, he collected 750,000 butterflies and processed the data statistically to correct existing wrong data. By measuring the length of fore wing, location and number of orbicular spots in the collected specimens and drawing normal distribution curve of individual variation, he determined the existing scientific names included in the variation range as a synonym and withdrew them from the academia. He, a natural history teacher of high school, pointed out and corrected wrong studies of renowned scholars such as professors of Japanese Imperial Universities, which was considered to raise the pride of Korean people remarkably in the Japanese colonial era. In this period, he published at least 120 articles in scientific journals in Japan and Joseon and removed 844 synonyms of Korean butterflies through his study, which was over 90% of total synonyms. As the discussion that applied statistical knowledge to biological taxonomy appeared from the late 1930s even in Western academia, his study method was simple but ahead of the time.
‘Butterfly Doctor’ who established taxonomy on Korean butterflies
With his efforts, Korean butterflies were arranged as 248 species and the taxonomy on the Korean butterflies was settled as modern science. Accordingly, the Royal Asiatic Society-Korea Branch (RASKB) requested him to write an article organizing his study on Korean butterflies, which was published as a book in English in 1940 (A Synonymic List of Butterflies of Korea, Korea Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1940). It was very unusual that a Korean scholar published his research book in English in the science area in the Japanese colonial era and he acquired a reputation as a representative scientist showing excellence in the science of Korean people with a nick of ‘Butterfly Doctor.’
He restricted his study subjects to the ‘Korean’ butterflies thoroughly. It was a result derived from his unique scientific view that it is possible to study ‘Korean style biology’ due to the strong local color of biology, different from other science areas. He called himself as ‘Joseon style biologist’, considering that it was Korean style biology (Joseon style biology) to identify characteristic features of Korean organisms by Korean researchers with their advantageous methodology subject to Korean organisms. He connected his study on the butterfly with Koreanology, finding and introducing butterfly related stories or persons in the classic of Joseon such as Dynasty Chronicles or individual collection of works. He interpreted his butterfly study as ‘Joseon Study’ and granted it the ethnic value as ‘Joseon style biology’, interested in the ‘Joseon study movement’ of Joseon intellectuals in the 1930s and interacting with them.
Named beautiful Korean names to 248 species of Korean butterflies such as ‘Gaksimetnorangnabi (Gonepteryx mahaguru)’ and ‘Supulalakpalangnabi (Carterocephalus silvicola)’
Quitting his taxonomical study, Joo Myung Seok advanced distribution study on each species of Korean butterfly, based on his collection data. On the basis of his collection records and literature, he identified habitats of each butterfly species and determined its southern limit line and northern limit line. Although he intended to promote entomology to consider a relationship, establish a system, and identify the relationship between environment and distribution, escaping from the taxonomy focusing on the appearance based on the distribution study and variation study, he failed to achieve his goal, because of sudden death in Korean War. However, his distribution study, which was published as his posthumous work in 1973, holds a very important value even today. (Distribution Chart of Korean Butterflies, Bojinjae, 1973) In addition, he led the Korean naming of butterflies, based on the passion and knowledge of Korean language and history. After liberation, The Korean names of 248 species of Korean butterflies he made or arranged in person were determined finally through the Joseon Society of Biology. The names made by him included many pure Korean names such as ‘Gaksimetnorangnabi (Gonepteryx mahaguru)’ and ‘Supulalakpalangnabi (Carterocephalus silvicola)’, which showed his sense and talent for the Korean language. Most butterfly names we use currently were created by him. He was the pioneer of the study of Jeju Island. While he was interested in local dialects or unique cultures during nationwide traveling to collect butterflies, he compiled a series of books on Jeju Island comprising six books including the ‘Dialect of Jeju Island’ and ‘Jeju Literature collection’ with a special interest in Jejudo. Especially, the ‘‘Dialect of Jeju Island’ among them was evaluated highly by Korean linguists and he was considered as a pioneer who led the local study of ‘Jeju Island Studies’ with the study on the dialect and culture of Jeju Island.