Pine Forest of Geumdangsil, Yecheon

The Pine Forest of Geumdangsil, Yecheon is a pine forest created to prevent flood damage and act as a windbreak for the village of Geumdangsil in Yongmun-myeon, Yecheon, a village known as one of the Sipseungjiji, the "ten safe havens" said to be places where people could live in peace even amid natural disasters or war. Lying to the northwest of Geumdangsil, the forest stretches for about 800 metres from the foot of Omibong Peak to the front of Yongmun Elementary School, where several hundred densely planted pine trees form a beautiful landscape; it lies adjacent to a school, farmland and village houses. Geumdangsil forms a delta where the streams flowing from Bokcheon, a tributary of the Nakdonggang River, and the valleys of Yongmunsa Temple and Cheongnyongsa Temple meet, so the local rivers flooded every summer; the forest was planted by villagers to guard against such flooding and to block the cold northwest winds of winter. In 1863, however, when Choe Je-u, who had been spreading the teachings of Donghak, was arrested and executed, public unrest led to the felling of some of the large trees, and in 1894, during the Donghak Peasant Revolution, trees were cut down extensively to raise funds for freeing slaves. It is said that in 1895, the 32nd year of Emperor Gojong, Yi Yu-in, then Minister of Justice, built a 95-kan house (kan being a traditional unit measuring the space between structural pillars) in Geumdangsil, lived there, and protected the forest thereafter. The Pine Forest of Geumdangsil, Yecheon was created to compensate for the village's topographical shortcomings and blends beautifully with the settlement in its landscape; many records survive of the villagers who have guarded and protected this forest since ancient times. For its great scenic, historical and cultural value, it is designated and protected as a Natural Monument.

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Where it is

Region

Yecheon, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물