Naju Yonggok-ri Fringe Tree

The name ipapnamu (fringe tree) is said to come from the way the whole tree is covered in white blossom when it flowers, resembling ibap, or cooked white rice; it is also said to have first been called ipha-mok ('tree of the Beginning of Summer'), because it flowers around ipha, the solar term marking the start of summer, and that the name changed over time from ipha-mok to ipha-namu and finally to today's ipapnamu. The fringe tree at Yonggok-ri, Naju, is estimated to be about 400 years old, 14m tall, and 3.2m in girth. Standing at the entrance to the village, it serves both as a shade tree where people can rest and as a sacred tree protecting the village. Over its long life it has suffered both natural and man-made damage and now has a large hollow, and stones have been piled around it for protection. Some 400 years ago, in the early 1590s, a man named Bae Jin, a saengwon (a licentiate who had passed the lower state examination) of Seonggyungwan, came here from Dalseong in Gyeongnam and founded the village; it is thought that the fringe tree was planted around that time or shortly afterwards. The Naju Yonggok-ri fringe tree, old and large, is of high biological value and has been designated and protected as a monument.

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Where it is

Region

Naju, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물