Multi-stem Pine of Sanghyeon-ri, Sangju

Bansong (盤松), a multi-stem pine, is a type of pine similar to the ordinary pine tree, but branching into several stems from the base with no distinction between a main trunk and branches, giving the whole tree an umbrella-like shape overall. This multi-stem pine, growing amid the paddies across from the village, is estimated to be about 500 years old; it is 13.0 m tall, with the two trunks measuring about 5.2 m and 2.5 m in girth at breast height. Its base splits into two large stems, so that depending on the viewing angle it can look like a single tree or like two separate trees, and because its shape resembles a pagoda it is also called Tapsong (塔松, "pagoda pine"). Villagers regard this tree as highly sacred, believing that harming it — or even raking up its fallen leaves — brings divine punishment. Every year, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, they hold a rite praying for the village's peace and a bountiful harvest, carefully protecting the tree. The multi-stem pine of Sanghyeon-ri, Sangju is judged to have high value as folkloric and biological material and has been designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sangju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물