Muku Tree of Sadang-ri, Gangjin

The muku tree is a tall tree of the elm family that grows widely along the west coast and across Gyeonggi Province, favouring streams and villages in warm regions. Together with the black pine and the hackberry, it withstands salt-laden sea winds well, making it suitable for windbreak forests along the coast. Because it resembles the hackberry, it is known in some areas by the folk names gaepaengnamu or gombyeongnamu. The muku tree of Sadang-ri is estimated to be about 300 years old. It stands 18.8 m tall with a girth of 10.5 m at breast height, and its six trunks, rising beside the road in front of the village, give it a dignified and beautiful appearance. The tree stands near the site of a former kiln where Goryeo celadon was once fired, and it seems to have survived to this day through the care of the potters who worked there. It has long been regarded as sacred, so much so that a story is told of a woodcutter who died suddenly after cutting one of its branches, and the villagers have held rites at the tree as a focal point of village unity; although this custom was interrupted for a time, the rites are once again being performed. The muku tree of Sadang-ri, Gangjin, is strikingly beautiful and has lived for centuries under the care and attention of past generations. Given its high value as biological material, it has been designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gangjin, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물