Seoul's mayor, Park Won-soon, has an innovative idea on how the South Korean capital can go greener: by building high-rise hotels for insects.
Won-soon, who earned a second five-year term last month, has gained popularity in Seoul for his efforts to improve residents' quality of life. Apparently, his ideals aren't limited to the city's human residents.
Global Post reports that Seoul has taken on a campaign to build 27 "insect hotels" in parks and public areas to protect the bugs from insecticide. The hotels, made from scrap wood, will accommodate a variety of creatures including ladybugs, honeybees, and even earwigs. Each bug species will have a designated floor with specialized items, such as dried grass or oak logs, for it to thrive in the hotel.
Though many may squirm at the thought of preserving bugs, city officials say insects are necessary to preserve the ecosystem.
"Seoul was developed very fast, and it wasn't regulated. We don't have a diverse species of bugs," Yang Gyoung-gyu, a city environmental advisor in Seoul, told Global Post. "The effect of the insect hotel is to expand the diversity of species."