The Ministry of Information and Communication has been issuing special stamps annually to raise the public awareness and to influence them to join in the drive to protect rare animals and plant species. This time, the peculiarly-looking Pungitius sinensis sinensis (Guichenot) and Coreoperca kawamebari (Tem-minck et Schlegel) are selected to be featured.

Pungitius sinensis sinensis (Guichenot)
Pungitius sinensis sinensis (Guichenot) is a freshwater fish, living in clean streams, ponds, or springs along the sea coast. It belongs to the stickleback family. It is commonly about 5cm long and has six to ten spines on its dorsal fins and one spine on each of the ventral and caudal fins. Its body is grayish green, dark green on the back and silvery white on the belly, with irregular lateral patterns on the sides of the body. It feeds on zooplankton and breeds May through July when a male builds a nest with stems of weeds and induces a female into his nest to lay eggs. He jealously guards the eggs until they hatch. Pungitius sinenses sinensis (Guichenot) occurs in most estuaries along the entire coast of the East Sea in Kangwon-do and Kyongsangbuk-do provinces and in Uirimji pond in Chech'on city, Ch'ungch'ongbuk-do province. They are also found along the coast of North Korea, eastern China, and Japan.