Natural Habitat of Chinese Junipers in Daepunggam, Ulleung

The Chinese juniper is found across central and southern Korea, as well as on Ulleungdo Island and in Japan, and is also known by the names sangnamu and nosongnamu. Because of its strong fragrance it has traditionally been burned as incense during ancestral rites, and it is also widely planted as an ornamental tree in gardens and parks. Ulleungdo Island was once home to many Chinese junipers, but their numbers have declined greatly because people cut them down indiscriminately. The trees that survive today grow near cliffs that are difficult for people to reach, notably at Daepunggam and Tonggumi. Because the junipers at Daepunggam grow on a coastal cliff exposed to strong winds, they have not been able to grow very tall. This site was once the location of the former Ulleung County Office, and it is said that the careful management and surveillance carried out there allowed this population of junipers to be preserved. The junipers growing at the Natural Habitat of Chinese Junipers in Daepunggam, Ulleung, are not tall because of the influence of sea winds, but they have grown for a long time in a special environment isolated from other regions, making them valuable academic material for research into the evolution of the Chinese juniper. For this reason they have been designated and protected as a natural monument.

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Where it is

Region

Ulleung, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물