Year of the Blue Snake, snake expert "蛇 are a rare mutant alien species, no domestic habitat"

YTN Radio (FM 94.5) [YTN News FM Wise Radio Life]

□ Broadcast date and time: January 3, 2025 (Fri)
□ Host: Announcer Park Gui-bin
□ Castor: Snake expert Moon Dae-seung, director of the Korea Amphibious Seafood Association

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

◆ Announcer Park Gui-bin (hereinafter referred to as Park Gui-bin): 2025 is the Year of the Blue Snake. B means blue. It's a snake lion. That's why it's the Year of the Blue Snake, but if you look at the appearance of the snake, it doesn't have legs and crawls like sliding on the floor and sticking out its tongue, so its appearance doesn't give people a good impression. However, it is said to be an animal that symbolizes healing and abundance in the East and West. We prepared a time to find out about snakes today. Let's get through to Moon Dae-seung, director of the Korea Amphibious Shellfish Association. Hello, director.

◇ Snake expert Moon Dae-seung, director of the Korea Amphibious Shellfish Association (hereinafter Moon Dae-seung): Yes, how are you? Happy New Year.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, director, happy new year. You're an amphibian reptile expert. Among them, I heard that Dr. Snake. Is it right?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: It's not just a snake. I like various reptiles, so I'm breeding them now and I'm teaching students at school.

◆ Park Gui-bin: You're covering all amphibian reptiles. But when it comes to amphibians, what animals are there? Among the animals we know?

◇ [Mun Daeseung] We often refer to amphibians and reptiles as amphibians and reptiles. Amphibians will now include frogs, salamanders, and reptiles will include snakes, turtle lizards, and crocodiles.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, you are a director of the Korea Amphibious Seafood Association. Are you also raising snakes yourself?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes, I am currently raising two species at home.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Is it because you like animals of that kind that you became an amphibian reptiles expert?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: No. Actually, I've liked all animals since I was young. So I'm raising birds at home, and when I was young, I usually raised a lot of birds and mammals, but I'm fascinated by amphibians and reptiles, so I'm raising a lot mainly amphibians and reptiles.

◆ Park Gui-bin: What are the charms of amphibians and reptiles?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: First of all, I had a dog and a cat. There's no hair loss. And now, it's not loud. And it doesn't cause allergies anymore, so in a way, amphibian reptiles are also an animal group that can be raised very neatly. But the most important thing is that it's quiet now. It means there's no noise.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Amphibian frogs croak.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Frogs don't cry that loud enough to hear outside the house, so you can think of it as a group of creatures that are so quiet that you don't know if they have amphibians or reptiles in this house.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Is that so? Do we cry only on Gyeongchip?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Frogs cry at night and cry especially loudly when it rains.

◆ Park Gui-bin: I see. This year is 2025 the Year of the Blue Snake, does this blue snake really exist?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: There are no species that live in Korea, but there are often blue-colored snakes among foreign species. But now, among the species of mosquitoes that live in Southeast Asia called "Fit Viper," there are those that are green originally, but now appear as blue mutations. And it's also a snake I'm raising at home, and it's called Green TriPyton, so it's a green tree silk worm. But among those types, there are some objects that have blue light. And there are some big sea snakes and coral snakes that are now blue in color.

◆ Park Gui-bin: What color is the snake usually?

◇ [Voiceover] In the case of animals that are originally blue, there are cases where snakes that are originally green turn blue.

◆ Park Gui Bin: Why is that color different?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: If I explain it easily, if you look at the eyes of the cat. Common cat eyes are yellow. But when you look at breed cats, there are green-eyed individuals and blue-eyed individuals. It's because of the melanin pigment. If the melanin pigment is excessive, the yellow eye becomes a darker brown, and on the other hand, if the melanin pigment is reduced, it turns green, and if the melanin pigment is reduced, it becomes blue. As a result, snakes that are originally green sometimes turn blue when melanin pigment is less expressed.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Then for those reasons, the color is blue, but now Cheongsa symbolizes healing and abundance. Didn't some blue snake have this symbolism because of some particular characteristics?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: First of all, the snake and mutated animals have been rare for a long time, so it has a meaning like a symbol of good luck. Animals with white colors and blue colors, which are not easily seen in the wild, tend to be considered a bit of a good thing, so snakes are originally animals that have that symbol of healing and prosperity, but now Cheongsa is more valuable, so I think they gave that meaning.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, there are quite a few types of snakes that live in Korea, right?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes.

◆ Park Gui Bin: What are the characteristics of snakes? Is there a poisonous snake in Korea?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Right, there's a very non-venomous venomous viper, and there's a poisonous viper. First of all, in the case of non-venomous snakes on land, there are now snakes commonly called snakeworms, water snakes, and now seven non-venomous snakes such as yellow snakes, silk snakes, bivari snakes, continental hematomas, and nematodes, and now we often say that poisonous snakes are poisonous snakes. There are also four types of poisonous snakes, which we often call a flower snake, such as a bloody snake, a slur, an iron slur, and a magpie slur.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Then there are the flower snakes and the killer snakes. Do you live in Korea? Sure, where do they usually live? I think I'll have to get away with it.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Especially in the case of bloodshed like this, especially in the past, my child misinterpreted it as a non-venomous snake. And depending on the period, it is known as a snake that is poisonous and then disappeared, but the bloody neck is a little unique because the poison tooth is the Juari venomous venomous venomous venomous venomous venomous venomous venomous viper on the molar side of the venomous viper. But now, the bloody tree has a characteristic that it eats toads that other snakes have not eaten and accumulates toad venom in its body. So, it was originally known as a non-venomous snake, but later it became known as a poisonous snake, and especially now, in the case of the Salmosa family and these bloody trees, they inhabit a lot around the water. There are many cases where food is mainly amphibians around the water, so they tend to inhabit near the water or the water.

◆ Park Gui-bin: It's very fatal if you get bitten by a venomous snake. Is it possible to die right away?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: But the poison of poisonous snakes living in Korea now has antitoxin, and because hospitals can treat it like this, there are not many accidents that lead to death like this.

◆ Park Guivin: Yes, yes.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: So you don't have to worry too much and you don't have that much poison like a foreign country. But in the case of vipers that need to be careful, there are two types of venom, called magpie-salmosa, and there are neurotoxins that paralyze the neurotoxin and hemorrhagic venom that causes bleeding. It's a venomous viper that has both poisons that destroy those cells. So it's also a poisonous snake that needs to be more careful now.

◆ Park Gui-bin: I don't think poisonous snakes should be bitten anymore, and can't you bite non-venomous snakes?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: He could bite. But now it's only a light wound, and in fact, the viper, the non-venom, and the snake itself are not that aggressive animals, but very timid animals.

◆ Park Gui-bin: But I don't think many people like snakes that much. Why is that? Is it because of the appearance?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: That's true, and it might be because of the DNA that has been passed down since our ancestors and now because of learning.

◆ Park Gui Bin: That's right.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Especially in the case of snakes, because they are not very noticeable around them, there are cases where they get bitten when they step on it without knowing. It's more surprising when a person gets attacked without knowing it.

◆ [Voiceover] Yeah, that's right.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: That's why there was a strong perception that snakes were dangerous. As a result, it has been lowered over and over, especially in the case of children, there is a tendency to teach that adults are now dangerous.

◆ Park Guivin: That's right.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes. And recently, when you go to a reptile fair like this, animals don't have much resistance to snakes when you see children brought by their parents who like reptiles.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Children tend to like reptiles.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes, yes. So, in a way, I don't have that fear if I tell them that I'm not scared of this animal without prejudice, but since I'm from the countryside, my parents wouldn't let me contact snakes. I don't know which snakes are poisonous.
◆ [Park Gwibin] That's right. You told me your preconceived notions, but the reason why people have been afraid of snakes since a long time ago is that snakes come out as scary beings even if you look at fairy tales, and even if you look at the Buddhist worldview, people who commit felonies fall into hell, where venomous snakes abound.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: That's right. And now, especially in the case of hemorrhagic venom, it is said that when bitten, you feel the pain as if you are burned.

◆ Park Gui-bin: I see.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Then it would be terrible to think that you don't die from that snake in hell and you continue to suffer like that. I think that's why I imagined that.

◆ [Park Gwibin] Yes, that's right. So, the perception of the snake itself remains very scary, but what is the perception of snakes in other countries? I think it's going to be different from country to country.

◇ [Mun Dae-seung] It's usually the sentiment of both families. First of all, snakes are known as a rather auspicious animal linking water and land in the East. There are also many poisonous snakes in the East, so there is a strong perception that they are dangerous and mysterious animals that you don't know yet, but there are many countries that actively use snakes for food, so it may be different from culture to culture.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Well, basically, people have been afraid of snakes since they were young, but there are a lot of good symbols in terms of folklore. Abundance, fertility, wisdom, and there is a saying that snakes were worshipped in the agricultural society, and they like snakes when they dream of birth.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes, yes, that's right. People always say that snake dreams are good dreams. In particular, snakes are now animals belonging to the duodenum in Korea. And it also symbolizes abundance, prosperity, reincarnation, and healing. Why don't you peel off your skin periodically? So, I think it gave the meaning of being born again.

◆ Park Gui-bin: I see.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: And in the past, before these houses were improved in Korea, they were like thatched houses. In other words, worms usually lived together to eat mice. As a result, the worm was called a guardian deity, so I revered it as a god who protects the house. The worm was recognized as a very grateful animal that did not harm humans and mainly eradicated rats that stole grain.

◆ Park Gwibin: He actually played that role, and the snake did, right?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes, that's right.

◆ Park Gui-bin: So if you look for the meaning of the role of snakes in the ecosystem, if you look at the food chain, snakes are animals that absolutely need to have that presence.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: That's right.

◆ Park Gwibin: Why is that?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: The big silkworms in Southeast Asia are a group of high predators in a way, but these small snakes that live in the country play an intermediate role in the ecosystem. You can think of it as an animal that acts like a middle ring, which eats food but also serves as food for other animals.

◆ Park Gui-bin: I see. But now, the environment has been destroyed a lot, and the green space has gradually disappeared, so the news sometimes comes out that snakes have appeared in the city center. But the environment in this city center is a little different from the habitat of snakes. The ecosystem collapsed. Can I look at it like this?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: I'm more cautious to say that this ecosystem has collapsed because these days, the city center has a much higher percentage of green space than it did in the 1980s. In the past, there were many trends in overfishing snakes as health food, such as creating an ecological forest or an ecological lake, but now there are not many people who eat snakes. In the past, because of the myth that it is good for men's energy, they used to catch and eat snakes like that, but these days, the number of ants increases and there are more places to live in the city center.

◆ That's why you see it as coming down to the city center. Snakes have increased their population.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: I think the number of people has increased because the laws that even wild animals cannot catch have been revised and protected.

◆ Park Gui Bin: Yes. Then you might see snakes more often in the city center.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: So if you meet a snake, sometimes you can meet a snake on the road in summer.

◆ What should I do? When I meet a snake,

◇ Moon Dae-seung: You just have to quietly escape.

◆ Park Gwibin: Can I just quietly go on that road?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes, yes, because the roads of snakes now heat up during the day. Since the road is warm, many people come up to the road to raise their body temperature. However, there are many people who jog or take a walk at night, so there are many people who often witness it, but you can just go back without stimulating the snakes.

◆ Park Gui-bin: But snakes don't have legs, but when you watch movies or something, they crawl very fast. I was worried that they would follow me.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: It's not like he's coming after me. Rather, they avoid snakes when they come into contact with people. Let's run away first.

◆ Park Gui Bin: Okay. They give it to me via text message, but listener 1 must be Dr. Wow Bam. It's amazing that you have snakes at home. Does your family like snakes, too?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: No. Actually, my mother has a great snake phobia in my family.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Then where do you raise snakes?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: I live alone independently, so it doesn't matter now, but it's a little hard to raise a snake at home if you have this snake phobia in your family. But my mother came to my house once. But when he saw the snakes I actually raised, he said that. Looking at it like this, they said that snakes are also pretty.

◆ Park Gui-bin: I guess you don't raise snakes like this. There's a separate snake house.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: You have to raise it separately.

◆ [Park Gwibin] That's right. Listener 2, what do you usually give food when you raise a snake? That's the question.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: In general, the snakes we keep at home are poison free, and they are serpentine. So I usually feed mice now.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Then we have to save the mice.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes, yes. But there's a mouse farm like that. These days, mouse farms deliver so-called packaging and frozen. Then you put it in the freezer and defrost it when you need it, so you're paid.

◆ Park Gui-bin: And the world has changed a lot because you fed him like that.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: So there are people who can't raise snakes because of their reluctance to do that.

◆ Park Gui-bin: So the food is not scary, but it's an animal that we're afraid of.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes, that's right. Anyway, snakes are carnivores and have to eat other creatures, so it's better to be aware of them and raise them.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Then, I heard that there are more people who raise snakes as pets these days. But you have to be careful about this. If you have anything, please point it out.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Even if it's a small snake, it's much stronger than you think. So loose kennels and things like that are very easy to escape. So, it's an animal that needs to be very careful about escaping, so it's not a big problem if you escape and stay inside your house, but it's a huge inconvenience if you go outside or are found in your neighbor's house. Actually, snakes may be so pretty to me, but you have to be careful about those things because they are the object of fear to others. Among those who like snakes, there are a few people who raise poisonous snakes even though it's not a normal way.

◆ Park Gwibin: Oh really?

◇ [Moon Dae-seung] Of course. So in the case of venomous snakes like cobras, they can actually put breeders at risk, but they shouldn't raise such illegal animals because they can escape and expose them to other people.

◆ Park Gui Bin: Okay. It's almost time. I'm really curious about this. Let me ask you one last question. In the past, we drew a picture of a hat, right? So you know the picture where the snake ate the elephant. So I heard that it's possible because the snake doesn't have a jawbone, is that true?

◇ Moon Dae-seung: That's impossible. And the other thing I got wrong there is that there's a term called BoA Bam. In the case of boa snakes, it is a snake that lives mostly in South America and is probably a python. Where elephants live.

◆ Park Gui Bin: Okay. We'll stop here today. Until now, he was a snake expert, Moon Dae-seung, director of the Korea Amphibious Shellfish Association. Thank you, director.

◇ Moon Dae-seung: Yes, thank you.