Korean Entomologist Who Devoted Life to Butterfly Love Returns Home After 90 Years with Research Specimens

Expert on Butterflies during Japanese Occupation Seok Ju-myeong
Collected 750,000 Butterfly Specimens
Hundreds of Thousands Lost in the Korean War

Domestic Researchers Discover Specimens at Kyushu University
Over 120 Specimens Brought Back to Korea After Persistent Persuasion

More than 120 insect specimens collected by entomologist Seok Ju-myeong, who devoted his life to butterfly research, are returning to Korean soil after more than 90 years.

The National Institute of Biological Resources under the Ministry of Environment announced on the 24th that it will receive a donation of over 120 insect specimens collected by Seok Ju-myeong from the Korean Peninsula during the 1930s and 1940s, from Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan.

Entomologist Seok Ju-myeong

Born in 1908, Seok Ju-myeong was a scholar who collected butterfly specimens throughout the Korean Peninsula and studied the variations of butterflies in the region. From the early 1930s for about 20 years, he traveled nationwide collecting 750,000 butterflies and compiled statistics. Through this, he discovered that there were as many as 844 butterflies with different names despite being the same species.

During the Japanese colonial period, Seok Ju-myeong published over 120 papers in professional academic journals in both Japan and Korea based on his research. In 1939, he published a book titled “A List of Synonymous Butterflies of Korea” with the Royal Asiatic Society in the UK, gaining worldwide recognition.

After liberation, he took the lead in naming butterflies in the Korean language. The number of Korean butterflies he personally created or organized reached 248 species, officially confirmed through the Korean Biological Society in 1947. Most of the butterfly names currently used, such as Gaksimyetnorangnabi and Supulallakpallangnabi, were coined by him in pure Korean.

Later, Seok Ju-myeong’s butterfly specimens were stored at the National Science Museum in Seoul, numbering about 150,000, but were completely destroyed by bombing during the Korean War. Only 32 butterfly specimens brought by his younger sister Seok Ju-seon during evacuation remain as the sole items registered as National Cultural Heritage No. 610.

Researchers from the National Institute of Biological Resources examining research specimens of Seok Ju-myeong held at the Kyushu University laboratory in Japan. Photo by National Institute of Biological Resources

However, researchers at the National Institute of Biological Resources first confirmed over 120 specimens of Seok Ju-myeong held in a laboratory at Kyushu University in Japan last March. It is presumed that Seok Ju-myeong, who had exchanges with Japanese entomologists at the time, donated or exchanged these specimens. Domestic researchers persuaded Kyushu University several times about the significance of his specimens to the Korean entomological community and the necessity of donation, successfully bringing them back to Korea.

The more than 120 specimens include rare species such as Chailbongjioknabi and Hamgyeongsanbaemnunabi, collected from high mountain areas in North Korea. Researchers at the National Institute of Biological Resources, together with Kyushu University researchers, organized all specimen information and submitted a related paper to the biological academic journal “Journal of Species Research.”

The National Institute of Biological Resources plans to hold a special exhibition and academic conference in November this year to re-evaluate the value of Seok Ju-myeong’s specimens.

Seo Min-hwan, director of the National Institute of Biological Resources, stated, “The return of Seok Ju-myeong’s specimens is historically and academically significant as we have acquired many valuable specimens. We will maintain continuous exchanges with Kyushu University’s entomology researchers based on this donation.”

Specimen of Cha Ilbong Jiok Butterfly from Seok Ju-myeong's collection. Photo by National Institute of Biological Resources

A specimen of the Hwanghae Mountain Snake-eye Butterfly from the collection of Seok Ju-myeong. Photo by National Institute of Biological Resources

Blue Pansy butterfly from Seok Ju-myeong's specimen collection. Photo by National Institute of Biological Resources

Sannebalnabi from Seok Ju-myeong's specimen. Photo by National Institute of Biological Resources