Manjisong Pine Tree in Dapgok-ri, Yeongyang

Manjisong is a pine tree growing on the hillside behind the village of Dapgok-ri, in Seokbo-myeon, Yeongyang. It was named 'Manjisong', meaning roughly 'ten-thousand-branch pine', because it bears an exceptionally large number of branches; it is also called the 'General's Tree', from a story that long ago a general, before going off to war, planted this tree and used it to divine whether he would live or die. Manjisong is estimated to be about 400 years old, standing 13.0 m tall with a girth at breast height of 4.9 m. It looks as though three trunks have merged into one, but in fact it remains a single trunk only up to 50 cm above the ground; above that point it divides into four trunks, from which a great many branches spread out in every direction. These branches reach almost to the ground, giving the tree the outline of a burial mound. Beside Manjisong stands another tree whose branches are so intertwined with its own that, at first glance, the two appear to be a single tree. The people of Dapgok-ri have long regarded Manjisong as a tree that protects the village, and there is also a legend that a woman unable to bear a son prayed devotedly before Manjisong and afterwards gave birth to one. Manjisong Pine Tree in Dapgok-ri, Yeongyang, despite its great age, is strikingly beautiful for its abundant branches and is well preserved, giving it high value as biological material; as a tree long believed to protect the village, it also carries considerable folkloric value, and it is accordingly designated and protected as a natural monument.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeongyang, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물