Forest of Japanese Hackberries and Yeddo Hornbeams in Cheongcheon-ri, Muan

Row trees are trees planted in a long line along roads or roadsides to serve as street trees. Our ancestors planted trees or created forests at village entrances or around farmland to protect the village and crops from wind and typhoons, and also used them as resting places. The forest of Japanese hackberries and Yeddo hornbeams in Cheongcheon-ri, Muan is planted along the national road in front of the village. Among the trees with a trunk girth of 1.6 m or more at chest height there are 12 Japanese hackberries, 2 Yeddo hornbeams and 2 zelkovas; including smaller trees, the forest consists of 47 Japanese hackberries, 5 Yeddo hornbeams and 20 zelkovas. These trees are estimated to be around 500 years old. It is said that the forest was planted about 500 years ago by an ancestor of the Bae clan, who settled here and, on surveying the village's terrain, judged that the area in front of the village felt too open and bare. It is thought to have been well protected ever since, because it was said that anyone who broke the branches or ate the fruit would fall seriously ill. The only row-tree forests in Korea designated as natural monuments are the row trees of the Zelkova, Japanese Hackberry and Yeddo Hornbeam Forest in Hyanggyo-ri, Hampyeong, and those of the Japanese Hackberry and Yeddo Hornbeam Forest in Cheongcheon-ri, Muan. The row trees here are especially important because they also serve as a windbreak forest protecting the village from the strong winds blowing in from the sea to the west, and for this reason they have been designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Muan, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물