Mandarin Orange Trees of Doryeon-dong, Jeju

The trees within the designated area comprise two Dangyuja (a native pomelo-type citrus) trees, two Byeonggyul trees, and one each of the Sangyul and Jingyul varieties; since Sangyul and Jingyul appear to be the same species, they may be counted as two trees each. Their age is estimated at 100–200 years, and they stand 6–7 m tall. The Dangyuja has long been used in folk remedies and offered as a prized fruit on ancestral ritual tables, and during the Joseon dynasty it was also presented to the king as tribute. In 1702, the court painter Kim Nam-gil recorded, in the coloured album Tamna Sullyeokdo, scenes of Jeju magistrate (Jeju-mok) Yi Hyeong-sang touring the districts of Jeju Island; its section titled Gamgyul Bongjin ("Presentation of Citrus Tribute") lists the numbers of Jeju citrus fruits presented as tribute, recording that Dangyuja was the second most numerous, after gamja (a citrus variety). The Dangyuja is a cultivated species of the citrus genus and a pure pomelo cultivar, not a hybrid. The Byeonggyul is mentioned under the name "Byeolgyul" (別橘) in the Tamnaji, a gazetteer published in 1653 by Jeju magistrate Yi Won-jin, which states: "It is broad above and narrows below, as if a small dish were turned upside down and hung; hence it is also called Byeonggyul (bottle tangerine)." The Jingyul is also known as the Sangyul. After the Dangyuja, it is the most widely distributed native mandarin in the Jeju region; it develops colour in December, and its dried peel, known as jinpi, is an indispensable ingredient in traditional Korean medicine. The mandarin orange trees of Doryeon-dong, Jeju, allow us to trace the original form of the Jeju citrus that has been cultivated on the island since before the Three Kingdoms period, and because of their great historical as well as biological value, they are designated and protected as a natural monument.

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Where it is

Region

Jeju City, Jeju

Designation

Natural Monument · 천연기념물