Jeju Horse of Jejudo Island

The Jeju horse is commonly known as the Jeju pony. Because it is small enough to pass beneath the branches of fruit trees, it is also called gwahama, meaning 'a horse that passes under fruit trees', or toma, meaning 'native horse'. It is a medium-sized horse, standing about 117 cm at the mare and 115 cm at the stallion, with a gentle temperament and a robust constitution that gives it strong resistance to disease and a high survival rate. Chestnut is by far the most common coat colour, followed in order by reddish-brown, grey and black. The breed has a distinctive build, low at the front and higher at the rear, with a long body, and it is noticeably smaller than other horses. Fossilised horse hoofprints estimated to be between 15,000 and 2,000 years old have been found in the Seogwipo area. The origins of the Jeju horse can be inferred from records such as the Tamnaguk Wangsegi, which notes that in its 145th year Tamna traded with China and Japan and exchanged nokrichong, and from the account that Baekje's King Mu presented China with a horse that Tamna had offered him in tribute, a horse referred to as a gwahama. Horse breeding on Jeju Island can be traced to the early Goryeo period, when the Mokgam Yangmabeop, a system for managing pastures and breeding horses, was established in 1025 and pasture administration was organised, so that Jeju horses came to be offered as tribute. Records state that in the reign of King Gojong (1258), tribute horses from Tamna were bestowed on civil and military officials of the fourth rank and above, that the Yuan dynasty set up pastures on Jeju Island in the reign of King Wonjong, and that 160 Mongolian horses were brought in during the second year of King Chungnyeol's reign (1276). The Jeju horse made a great contribution to Korea's farming culture, and its numbers once reached about 20,000, but they fell sharply as times changed. To preserve its bloodline and the species itself, it has been designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jeju City, Jeju

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물