The Drama That Became Real: Changwon's "Woo Young-woo Hackberry" in Bukbu-ri

At a glance

Tree

Bukbu-ri Hackberry of Changwon

Age · era

Estimated about 500 years old · Designated 2022

Story

Standing at the top of an open hill in Dongbu Village, Bukbu-ri, Daesan-myeon, Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do, this hackberry is about 500 years old, 16 m tall, 6.8 m around at chest height, with a crown spread of about 27 m, making it a relatively large and old hackberry (Korea Heritage Service). From the hill, the wide plains of Hanam-eup to the north and Daesan-myeon to the south spread out on either side of the Nakdong River. In the farming society it was the center of the Dongbu Village community, and residents regarded it as a sacred tree and have held a dangsan rite for more than 90 years. A photo of villagers and the hackberry together during the 1934 flood was even printed in the Dong-A Ilbo (24 November 1934). In 2022 it appeared as the "Sodeok-dong hackberry" in episode 8 of the drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo; in the drama, the hackberry is designated a Natural Monument and saves the village from crisis. On 25 July 2022 the Korea Heritage Service (then the Cultural Heritage Administration) announced a real designation survey, and at that time only two hackberry old trees were Natural Monuments: Hwangmokgeun in Yecheon and the hackberry of Sudong-ri, Gochang. It was designated a Natural Monument on 7 October of the same year, and was assessed as a representative national heritage that combines the intangible heritage of a village shrine rite with the natural heritage of a hackberry tree. It was also recognized at designation that, from the survey stage, the Cultural Heritage Administration, Changwon-si and village residents formed a joint council and worked to resolve residents' inconvenience from growing numbers of visitors and to prepare protective measures that take the growing environment into account.