Won Pyong Oh
Encyclopedia
Won Pyong Oh is a South Korean zoologist, known particularly for his work on Korean birds. He is the son of noted North Korean ornithologist Won Hong-gu (died 1970). He has published approximately 120 papers on Korean ornithology. He has also published about 10 book-length studies of Korean zoology, although none have been translated into English.
Born in Kaesong
, Won began his college education in North Korea
, graduating from Wonsan Agricultural College (원산농업대학) in 1950 with a degree in animal husbandry
. With the outbreak of the Korean War
in that year, he moved to the South, while his parents and one brother remained in the North. He obtained a second degree in biology from Kyunghee University in 1959, and went on to get his doctorate from Japan's Hokkaido College in 1961. He then took a professorship at Kyunghee, where he remained throughout his career.
In 1965, a Daurian Starling tagged by Won was found and reported by his father. This was the closest contact between the two men after they were separated by the war. In 2002, Won was finally granted permission to visit the North, although his parents and brother were dead.
As of 2006, Won was professor emeritus at Kyunghee University.
Born in Kaesong
Kaesong
Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...
, Won began his college education in North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, graduating from Wonsan Agricultural College (원산농업대학) in 1950 with a degree in animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
. With the outbreak of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
in that year, he moved to the South, while his parents and one brother remained in the North. He obtained a second degree in biology from Kyunghee University in 1959, and went on to get his doctorate from Japan's Hokkaido College in 1961. He then took a professorship at Kyunghee, where he remained throughout his career.
In 1965, a Daurian Starling tagged by Won was found and reported by his father. This was the closest contact between the two men after they were separated by the war. In 2002, Won was finally granted permission to visit the North, although his parents and brother were dead.
As of 2006, Won was professor emeritus at Kyunghee University.