Nagangyochon-ri Ginkgo

The ginkgo is a tree so old that it is often called a living fossil, and it is found in Korea, Japan, China and elsewhere. In Korea it is said to have been introduced together with Confucianism and Buddhism when these arrived from China. Because its autumn foliage is very beautiful, it suffers no pest damage, and it casts a broad, dense shade, it has often been planted as a shelter tree or as a street tree. The ginkgo of Gyochon-ri stands within Nagan Hyanggyo, a local Confucian school, a short distance south of Naganeupseong Folk Village. Nagan Hyanggyo originally stood at Nongam-deung, east of the walled town, but was moved to its present site around the ninth year of King Hyojong (1658) and has since been rebuilt several times down to the present day. This ginkgo is thought to have been planted when the hyanggyo was relocated. Standing to the right of Myeongnyundang, the hyanggyo's lecture hall, the tree is 25 m tall and 8.2 m in circumference. Its original trunk divides into three stems at a height of 2.5 m; two small branches on the east side have been cut and are now dead. Ginkgo trees are either male or female, and this tree, a female, is a rare old tree of very large size, valuable both in itself and for the history it shares with the hyanggyo. Name changed on 20 June 2006, from Suncheon Gyochon-ri Ginkgo to Nagangyochon-ri Ginkgo.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suncheon, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물