[DigitalToday Ho-jung Lee] Kakao is joining hands with Hyundai Motor and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to mark the locations of South Korea's sea forests on its map service for the first time and to launch a donation campaign for marine ecosystem conservation.

Kakao said on May 6 that its location-based life platform KakaoMap will participate in the 'Nameless Forest' marine ecosystem conservation campaign planned by Hyundai Motor and supported by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The project, timed for Sea Forest Day on May 10, focuses on giving place names to sea forests that previously lacked geographic identities and reflecting them on maps. KakaoMap has implemented location information for domestic sea forests on its map. It is the first case in South Korea of sea forests being shown as distinct spaces on a map.

Users can view the Ulsan 'Ullim Sea Forest' and the Ulleung County 'Tonggumi Natural Sea Forest' in the KakaoMap app until May 23. They can search related keywords such as 'sea forest campaign' and 'Nameless Forest campaign,' or tap the sea forest icon featuring the fish Chunsik character on the map to see detailed information, videos and photos.

It will also run a donation campaign linked with the social contribution platform Kakao Together Value until May 19. It encourages participation in donations for marine environmental protection, including responding to the risk of extinction of Jeju's Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, and the related information can also be found on KakaoMap's sea forest detail pages.

A Kakao official said, "This campaign has made it possible to promote, through a map service, the value of sea forests that are difficult to recognize because they are underwater and the importance of conserving marine ecosystems." The official added, "We plan to continue expanding various social contribution activities."