"I Am as Useless as This Quince Tree": The Tree for Which King Sejo Granted the Title "Mudong Cheosa"

Place · 647 Yeonje-ri, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do (Quince Park, Osong Bio Valley Industrial Complex)

An illustration of a woman smelling the fragrance of a yellow quince beside a large quince tree, against low roofs, a stone wall and fields of an autumn village. Beside the woman, who wears a gray-green cardigan and a spotted shawl, wide mottled bark and yellow fruit are visible. — The tree drawn as a character (AI-made illustration)

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Chinese Quince of Yeonje-ri, Cheongju

At a glance

Tree: Yeonje-ri Quince Tree of Cheongju
Age · era: Early reign of King Sejo of Joseon (anecdote), Provincial Monument in 2000, Natural Monument in 2011

Story

The Yeonje-ri quince tree in Quince Park in the Osong Bio Valley Industrial Complex, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, was designated a Chungcheongbuk-do Provincial Monument in 2000 and upgraded to a Natural Monument on 13 January 2011. According to the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture and the Korea Heritage Service portal, in the early reign of King Sejo of Joseon, Ryu Yun of the Seosan Ryu clan, who lived in seclusion here, answered Sejo's summons to office by pointing at this quince tree to convey that he was a useless man, and it is said that Sejo then personally bestowed a royal letter reading "Mudong Cheosa" (楙洞處士, Hermit of Quince Valley). The Korea Heritage Service portal explains that this is a tree with a long history of having been given the "Mudong Cheosa" royal letter, and that it was designated a Natural Monument for its historical and cultural value as well as its biological value. The encyclopedia estimates its age at about 500 years. People often compare an ugly person to a quince because the quince is said to be the ugliest of fruits, and Heo Gyun's Domun Daejak records Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, as the main quince-producing area.

Sources — 3 records and legends

Records are facts written in the sources. Legends are stories handed down over time. Sources are in Korean.

Record

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture writes that the Yeonje-ri quince tree was upgraded from a Chungbuk Provincial Monument in 2000 to a Natural Monument on 13 January 2011 and is estimated to be about 500 years old, and explains that people compare an ugly person to a quince because the quince is said to be the ugliest of fruits, and that Heo Gyun's Domun Daejak records Yecheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, as the main producing area.
한국민족문화대백과사전 '청주 연제리 모과나무' · checked 2026-10-04

Legend

From the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, "Yeonje-ri Quince Tree, Cheongju": the quince tree of Yeonje-ri, Cheongju, Chungcheongbuk-do, is about 500 years old and was upgraded to a Natural Monument in 2011. The story handed down is that Ryu Yun of the Seosan Ryu clan, living in seclusion here at the start of Sejo's reign, did not answer the summons to office, and instead of making excuses pointed at this quince tree to convey that he too was (like the quince tree) a useless man; Sejo then personally issued a royal letter reading "Mudong Cheosa" (楙洞處士).
한국민족문화대백과사전 '청주 연제리 모과나무' · checked 2026-09-30
The Korea Heritage Service portal explains that the Yeonje-ri quince tree of Cheongju, designated on 13 January 2011, stands in Quince Park in the Osong Bio Valley Industrial Complex (9.6 m tall, 3.0 m in circumference), is large among quince trees in Korea, and has a pronounced uneven trunk with a dappled pattern. It is handed down that when Ryu Yun, living in seclusion in the early reign of Sejo, was summoned, he pointed to this tree and refused, saying he was a useless man, and that Sejo personally bestowed the royal letter "Mudong Cheosa"; because of this history, it was designated a Natural Monument for its great historical and cultural value.
국가유산청 국가유산포털 — 천연기념물 청주 연제리 모과나무 (기본정보·국가유산 설명) · checked 2026-10-14

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