Docheonsup Forest in Docheon-ri, Yeongdeok

This forest was planted about 400 years ago, when the village was founded. The name Docheon comes from the fact that, after the Three Kingdoms period, a stream flowed through the village along a post road, so the village was called Gilnae or Jilnae ('road stream'), a name later rendered in Chinese characters as Docheon (道川). At one time the forest was so extensive that it stretched from the mountain, along the stream, all the way to Guksidang-deul in the south, and thanks to this 'fence' the village was said to have been the wealthiest in Yeongdeok; it has since been reduced to its present size by fires and land cleared for farming. According to tradition, the forest was created to counter the threatening shape of a snake's head, a so-called snake-head site, on the mountain facing the village, as a way of supplementing its feng shui. The Docheonsup Forest in Docheon-ri, Yeongdeok, retains a well-preserved record of the principles and origins of its creation. Within the forest survives South Korea's only remaining samgut, a pit dug into the ground in which hemp was boiled to make cloth for clothing, giving the forest academic value for the study of how such forests were used. In addition, a dangje, a rite praying for the village's peace and a good harvest, is held at the village shrine on the first full moon of the lunar year, and it is distinctive in that all the young men of the village take part; when villagers once left the village for good, they would also pay their respects at this shrine before departing, and would not take away so much as a single branch. This shows the reverence of past generations for nature, giving the forest cultural and folk value, and it is designated and protected as a Natural Monument.

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Where it is

Region

Yeongdeok, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물