Ogye Chicken of Hwaak-ri, Yeonsan

Like other chickens, the Ogye is believed to originate from Southeast Asia. There is no precise record of when it was introduced to Korea, but it is likely to have been brought by way of China and become naturalised here. The oldest record found so far consists of two poems about the Ogye in the Jejeongjip, the collected writings of the late Goryeo scholar Yi Dal-chung, whose pen name was Jejeong. This suggests that the Ogye has been raised in Korea for at least 700 years. The Ogye has a small, agile build and a strongly wild nature: it flies well and has a very fierce temperament. Its comb is crown-shaped and dark red, and its eyes are entirely black, with no visible distinction between white and pupil. Its feathers are black with a bluish sheen, and unlike the black-boned chickens of China and Japan, it is distinguished by having no fine down between shank and toes. Its skin, bones and claws are all black, and it has four toes on each foot. Hens sit closely on their eggs, but their laying ability is poor and their eggs are small. The Ogye is closely bound up with the life and culture of our ancestors, and there is a serious risk that the breed will disappear if it is not conserved; it is therefore designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Nonsan, Chungnam

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물