The First Maples to Become a Natural Monument: The Munsusa Maple Grove in Gochang

At a glance

Tree

Maple Grove of Munsusa Temple, Gochang

Age · era

Munsusa founded in 644, designated a Natural Monument in 2005

Story

When it designated the maple forest around Munsusa Temple in Eunsa-ri, Gosu-myeon, Gochang-gun, Jeollabuk-do as Natural Monument No. 463 on 9 September 2005, the Cultural Heritage Administration (now the Korea Heritage Service) said that "maples have never before been designated a Natural Monument" and that the forest has very great historical and scenic value and ecological representativeness. Along about 80 m of approach from the Munsusa parking lot to the temple, partway up Munsusan (also called Cheongnyangsan), maples estimated at 100 to 400 years old grow on both sides, including old trees with a chest-height circumference of up to 2.96 m. The press release said this is a forest that has been protected as the temple forest of Munsusa, built in the 4th year of King Uija of Baekje (644), and the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture writes that this is "presumed". The encyclopedia records a folk custom of cutting maples on Gyeongchip day to drink the sap that flowed out, which led to many maples being cut, and records that the reason there are no legends about maples among Korea's sacred trees is said to be that the Japanese cut and carried off almost all of them.