Black Pine at Jwasuyeong Fortress Site, Busan

Black pine belongs to the pine family; its needles are coarser than those of the Korean red pine, and while the red pine's winter buds are reddish, the black pine's are greyish white. Because it grows along the coast, it is also called haesong, or sea pine, and because its bark is darker than that of the red pine, it is also called heuksong, or black pine. Being resistant to wind and salt, it is widely planted as a windbreak or tide-breaking forest along the coast. The black pine at Jwasuyeong Fortress Site is estimated to be about 400 years old, standing 21.6 m tall with a girth of 4.74 m at breast height, and now stands within Suyeong Park. The trunk rises 7.0 m before it branches, and its bark is cracked like a turtle's shell. According to legend, during the Joseon period the Left Naval Command, or Jwasuyeong, was located here, and the soldiers stationed there regarded this tree as a sacred tree that protected and watched over them, and prayed to it for their own safety. Beside it stand a shrine housing a guardian spirit and jangseung guardian posts, and in front of it stands one more black pine tree. The black pine at Jwasuyeong Fortress Site has lived for a long time under the interest and care of past generations, and it holds high value for preservation as folkloric and cultural material. It is therefore designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suyeong-gu, Busan

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물