Pine Forest of Geumdangsil, Yecheon

Basic information

Designation

Natural Monument No.469

Category

동식물

Era

100~200여년

Designated year

2006

Location

예천군, 경상북도— 경북 예천군 용문면 상금곡리 542-1번지

Coordinates

36.692163, 128.406625

The Pine Forest was planted to prevent flooding, serving as windbreak for the village of Geumdangsil in Yongmun-myeon, Yecheon, known as one of the ten places in the country where the people could live without fear of war or natural disasters. Located in the northwestern part of Geumdangsil, the thick forest of hundreds of pine trees stretches 800m from the bottom of Omibong Peak to the front of Yongmun Elementary School, creating beautiful scenery with schools, houses, and fields nearby. Bokcheon Stream, a tributary of Nakdonggang River, meets the tributaries that run through Yongmunsa Valley and Cheongnyongsa Valley, forming a delta that floods every summer. Thus, the villagers created the pine forest to prevent flooding and to block the northern wind in winter. Note, however, that the capture and execution of Choe Je-u, the founder of Donghak (eastern learning) in 1863 stirred popular sentiment, and some of the bigger trees in the forest were logged. Then, during the 1894 Donghak peasants’ uprising, heavy logging took place in the forest to raise money to free slaves. In 1895 (the 32nd year of the reign of King Gojong), Yi Yu-in, minister of law, built a large house in Geumdangsil and came to live there to protect the forest from further damage. The pine forest of Geumdangsil is historically valuable and has been preserved well by the villagers for a long time.

Location