Since 1985 we have spent time studying Oriental fire-bellied toads, Bombina orientalis, at three different locations in the Republic of Korea. Our north central site is located in some rice paddies near the village of Kangchon. 
Our south central site is located in Chiri-san National Park and our main site is located in
the mountains near the city of Tonghae-si along the east coast of the country.
Our pattern is to arrive in Seoul right after schools out and graduation has occurred - around May 23rd. At this point the frogs have been breeding for nearly 3 weeks and are still going strong in many locations. Depending on the nature of the research during a particular year, we might head out of Seoul pretty quickly and go straight to our east coast mountain site. At that location we camp out in the forest next to a granite outcrop that has a stream flowing through it. It is a steep hike that begins at a quiet but active Buddhist temple in the Murung Valley. It takes about 2 hours to get to the site with full gear and laboratory equipment. Once the back breaking initial climb is over, however, we camp at this no facilities location for up to 6 weeks. Several team members hike out and back for supplies about every 3 or 4 days. It basically takes one whole day to make the round trip with groceries intact.
The weather in May and June is very variable. But, it seldom drops below 48 F at night and is usually in the high 60's during the day. Some years it rains a lot and it seems cold all the time. Other years the sun has been out at least 50% of the time. When it's out it can be quite warm, getting into the 90's. By early July we usually leave the mountain because the hot torrential rains of the summer monsoons start-up with amazing regularity. We know it's time to go because the fire-flies invariably appear about 2 days before the "rainy season" begins.
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Maintained by the Reed College Biology Department
Last Modified 10/21/97
Questions/Comments to Robert.Kaplan@directory.reed.edu