Yecheon’s 600-year-old Seoksongryeong pine nears 100 years of land ownership
In short
A 600-year-old pine tree in Yecheon, North Gyeongsang Province, that owns land, pays taxes and funds scholarships is to become the subject of a government-funded research project. Yecheon-gun said the National Heritage Administration selected a study of Korea’s “personified trees” for national funding, ahead of the 100th anniversary of the tree’s land registration next year. Villager Lee Su-mok registered 5,588 square metres of land in the tree’s name in 1927.
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Yecheon-gun said on October 6 that the National Heritage Administration had selected Yecheon Museum’s “Korean Personified Tree Value Promotion Research Project” as a recipient of national funding. Under the project, researchers will examine Seoksongryeong and other natural monuments across the country that are known as “personified trees” — trees that, like people, receive names or titles or hold property. The museum will look at the stories attached to the trees, how they came to own assets and how they are managed, as well as how residents have protected them and what role they have played in village communities, according to the Kyunghyang Shinmun report. [ 3 ]
Seoksongryeong is a pine in Seokpyeong village, Gamcheon-myeon, in Yecheon, at the foot of Mount Sobaeksan. It is estimated to be about 600 years old and is Natural Monument No. 294. The tree stands 10 metres tall with a trunk circumference of 4.2 metres, and its spreading canopy casts shade of roughly 1,000 square metres, the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported. According to the account, it is said to have floated down the Seokgwancheon stream during a large flood in the Punggi area about 600 years ago and to have been rescued and planted at its current site by a traveller. [ 3 ]
The tree acquired its property during the Japanese colonial period. In 1927, villager Lee Su-mok, who had no children, decided to leave his assets to the pine that had given residents shade and a place to rest. On August 10 that year he named the tree Seoksongryeong — combining “seok” from Seokpyeong village, “song” for pine and “ryeong” for spirit — and registered 5,588 square metres of land in inheritance, according to the Kyunghyang Shinmun. The report describes it as known as the first tree in Korea to hold property under its own name. A Yecheon-gun official said trees could be registered like corporations at the time, adding that Chungcheongbuk Province’s Jeongipumson is among other trees that hold property through registration. [ 2 , 3 ]
The land owned by Seoksongryeong holds a health clinic, a village hall, a senior centre and a public toilet. Rental income means the tree pays tax each year: 6,200 won in comprehensive land tax and other charges in 1999, rising to 160,000 won in 2023 as official land prices increased, the Kyunghyang Shinmun reported. Residents manage the tree and its assets through a group called Seoksonggye; after taxes, the remaining rent is used for scholarships and other projects, and a Dongsinje ritual is held in front of the tree on the day before Jeongwol Daeboreum each year to wish the village peace and a good harvest. [ 1 , 3 ]
A Yecheon-gun official said the tree has served as a focal point that binds residents together beyond being a tree with property, and that the county would systematically organise Seoksongryeong’s value on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its registration. The Kukmin Ilbo headline also referred to commemorative projects for the anniversary, though details were not given in the available text. [ 1 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The research is intended to document how trees such as Seoksongryeong came to hold property and what role they played in their villages, according to Yecheon-gun, which said it would use the anniversary to organise the tree’s value systematically. The story also highlights how a rural community has kept managing the tree and its assets through a residents’ group.
Key facts
- Seoksongryeong is a pine tree in Seokpyeong village, Gamcheon-myeon, Yecheon-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, estimated to be about 600 years old. [ 3 ]
- It is Natural Monument No. 294, stands 10 metres tall with a trunk circumference of 4.2 metres, and casts shade of about 1,000 square metres. [ 3 ]
- In 1927 villager Lee Su-mok, who had no children, registered 5,588 square metres of land in the tree’s name on August 10 and gave it the name Seoksongryeong. [ 3 ]
- The tree earns rent from its land, pays annual taxes — 6,200 won in 1999 and 160,000 won in 2023 — and the remaining income is used for scholarships and other projects. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Yecheon-gun said the National Heritage Administration selected Yecheon Museum’s Korean Personified Tree Value Promotion Research Project as a recipient of national funding. [ 3 ]
- Residents manage the tree and its property through a group called Seoksonggye, and hold a Dongsinje ritual before Jeongwol Daeboreum each year. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- What the “commemorative projects” mentioned for the anniversary will involve. The Kukmin Ilbo headline refers to commemorative projects but no article text is available, and the other documents describe only the research project.
- What Newsis reported beyond its headline. The article text retrieved for Newsis concerns an unrelated judiciary matter, so its details on the tree cannot be used.
- Yecheon-gun announced a research project on personified trees backed by national funding. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Kukmin Ilbo reports on the scholarship-giving tree Seoksongryeong and plans to mark the 100th anniversary of its land registration. [ 1 ]
- Newsis reports that Yecheon’s Seoksongryeong marks 100 years of land registration and that its humanities and sociocultural meaning is being investigated. [ 2 ]
- Kyunghyang Shinmun reports that Yecheon-gun said the National Heritage Administration selected a research project on personified trees for national funding. [ 3 ]