[Ko Gyu-hong's Trees and People] Why Did Hallasan God Descend to Sancheondan?

<1> Iyaktong and Jeju Sancheondan Gomsol Pine Tree

Cheongbaek-ri Symbol Jeju Moksa Iyaktong, Saddened by Baengnokdam Mountain Spirit Festival Taking Jeju People's Lives
Village Seeks Sacred Tree to Host Mountain Spirit Nearby
Altar Set in the Sacred Sancheondan Gomsol Pine Forest for Safe Ceremony
The Tree Not Only Stays Nearby but Also Symbolizes 'Living Together'

The reason masks are necessary is not only because of fine dust. Every year around this time, people covered their mouths and noses with masks due to fine dust, but this year, masks became necessary even without fine dust. To protect themselves, people rushed to cover their bodies. It is an era where one can only feel at ease after blocking themselves from everything external surrounding their bodies. Even meeting close friends must be approached with caution.

"Our bodies are dynamically and constantly changing. This is because the body is repeatedly created and decomposed according to biological processes. Every time we breathe or eat, we bring the outside world into our own 'internal sanctuary (聖所).'"

This is a passage from "The Flower Knows," a recent notable work by Patricia Waltcher, a British-born pioneer of the somewhat unfamiliar field of legal ecology. It tells us that being alive is a constant exchange between the inside and outside of our bodies.

This is why we are now looking at trees again. Living rooted in one place, yet calling the greatest number of living beings into their embrace, living through constant interactions with other life forms, and ultimately surviving as the most beautiful living beings in the world, trees make us reflect on the true meaning of "living together."

Trees share what they have with other life forms regardless of time. All trees gather light, air, and water to perform photosynthesis, bloom flowers filled with nectar and pollen to share with other life forms, borrow their strength to achieve mating, and succeed in reproduction. Trees are life forms that cannot live without coexisting with other life forms. Of course, this includes humans.

During the agricultural culture era, trees and humans were one. Sometimes like old friends, or like the village’s elderly grandfathers or grandmothers, trees were affectionate beings. Trees were also objects of worship that made human life richer and more peaceful. Trees were always beside people, and people tried to get closer to trees even a little, relying on trees to accomplish things they themselves could not.

There was a time when nothing could be done without trees. About five hundred years ago, it was the same in Jeju. Until then, Jeju people believed that everything sustaining Jeju’s livelihood was thanks to the grace of the Hallasan Mountain Spirit. Whether the wind blew or snow fell, whether it was a bountiful year or a poor one, Jeju people were grateful to the Hallasan Mountain Spirit simply for being alive. People held a ritual for the Hallasan Mountain Spirit once a year. Carrying carefully prepared ritual offerings, they climbed all the way to Baengnokdam, the crater lake of Hallasan, to perform the mountain spirit ritual.

This was in the lunar January. Jeju Island is windy, and its winter cold is fierce, comparable to other regions of the Korean Peninsula. The path up to Baengnokdam is even more so. Even nowadays, when the trail is well maintained, climbing is often prohibited when strong winds blow or snowstorms rage because the path is so treacherous.

The Gomsol pine tree at Sancheondan, where the Hallasan deity came down from the mountain and stayed briefly to check on the livelihoods of the Jeju people.

In the old days, when there was no proper path for people, the way up to Baengnokdam must have been sheer hardship. Braving the fierce weather to climb Baengnokdam, it was not uncommon for people to collapse from exhaustion or even lose their lives to the biting cold.

There was a man named Lee Yakdong (李約東, 1416?1493), a forty-five-year-old elder who was appointed as the Jeju magistrate during the reign of King Seongjong of Joseon. He is recorded as a symbol of integrity in "Yeollyeosilgiseol (燃藜室記述)," a collection of unofficial histories of Joseon, by the late Joseon practical scholar Lee Geungik (李肯翊, 1736?1806).

During his tenure as Jeju magistrate, Lee Yakdong even left behind the hunting whip he used, hanging it on the wall of the government office when he finished his term and left. The people of Jeju treasured Lee Yakdong’s whip like a treasure and showed it to the newly appointed magistrates.

The story of his departure from Jeju is also interesting. When the boat carrying Lee Yakdong reached the middle of the sea, it just circled around without moving forward. The boatmen were frightened, but Lee Yakdong sat still without moving. One of his aides said to him, "The islanders are grateful for your virtue and have made a suit of armor from gold to present to you on the day you wear armor." Lee Yakdong immediately ordered the aide to throw the golden armor into the sea, after which the boat safely sailed away.

The place where Lee Yakdong’s boat circled was called "Tugabyeon (投甲淵)." Later, the late Joseon practical scholar Jeong Yak-yong (丁若鏞, 1762?1836) also quoted this story in his "Mokminsimseo (牧民心書)."

When Lee Yakdong first arrived in Jeju, what caught his eye first was the Hallasan Mountain Spirit ritual, which the Jeju people endured painfully but could not neglect. Lee Yakdong could not bear that the mountain spirit ritual, intended for peaceful living, was instead taking lives.

Thinking of another way, he believed that the mountain spirit, who dwelled in the sky or deep in the mountains, would eventually come down to the human village to watch over human life. He judged that the mountain spirit would frequently come down to the village to observe the conditions of human life. The place where the Hallasan Mountain Spirit would stay in the human village was undoubtedly atop a large, clear tree. Lee Yakdong set out to find a sacred tree where the Hallasan Mountain Spirit could reside.

After a long search, he found the current Gomsol Forest at Sancheondan. This forest, where tall Korean red pines (Gomsol) stood in clusters, seemed to be a perfect place for the Hallasan Mountain Spirit to dwell. Lee Yakdong did not hesitate. He decided to hold the mountain spirit ritual here and set up an altar in the middle of the Gomsol forest. This was in the first year of King Seongjong’s reign, 1470, the year Lee Yakdong was appointed Jeju magistrate.

Sancheondan is a beautiful forest centered around several tall Korean red pines. Even five hundred years ago, when Lee Yakdong built Sancheondan, this place was a beautiful forest. Although it is now difficult to find traces, at that time there was a clear spring called Sorimcheon (小林泉) here, and nearby was a temple called Sorimsa (小林寺). Although the traces of the temple and spring have completely disappeared, the Korean red pines where the Hallasan Mountain Spirit stayed soared high as if piercing the sky. It was a forest perfectly suited for the mountain spirit to stay whenever it descended.

The Gomsol pine tree at Sancheondan, where the Hallasan deity came down from the mountain and stayed briefly to check on the livelihoods of the Jeju people.

People no longer had to risk their lives climbing all the way to Baengnokdam. Ultimately, Sancheondan became a symbol of the foremost benevolent governance Lee Yakdong bestowed upon the people of Jeju. Of course, Lee Yakdong’s benevolent governance did not stop there but continued throughout his tenure as Jeju magistrate.

As time passed after Lee Yakdong left Jeju, the traces of Sancheondan gradually disappeared. Eventually, only the trees remained, silently remembering the past after the altar itself vanished.

The story of Lee Yakdong and Sancheondan came to light again in 1997. At that time, the "Hallasan Mountain Spirit Ancient Zen Monument (漢拏山神古禪碑)" erected by Lee Yakdong was excavated in a clearing in the Gomsol forest, revealing the old story.

Designated as Natural Monument No. 160, the "Jeju Sancheondan Korean Red Pine Group" consists of eight Korean red pines. The forest scenery is fresh and beautiful, harmonized with several Chinese hackberries and Korean mulberries that beautify the surroundings.

The Korean red pines are spaced at regular intervals, with a wide open space in the middle. This is presumed to be the space prepared by the ancients for holding rituals. Deep inside the fenced area lies a stone altar used for the mountain spirit ritual, quietly resting covered with green moss from the passage of time.

The eight Korean red pines of Jeju Sancheondan are impressive in size alone. The tallest among them soars up to 30 meters. Its trunk circumference at chest height exceeds 4 meters, making it one of the largest Korean red pines in the country. On one side of the fence stands a merit monument commemorating Lee Yakdong’s achievements in establishing Sancheondan here.

It is truly grateful that trees not only silently stand beside people but also serve as pillars of stories for the peace and well-being of human life.

It is no exaggeration to say that living without trees is impossible. Trees have long entered human villages and are precious life forms that solve difficulties in human life that people themselves cannot resolve.

In these days when thorough isolation from the outside world has become a strong means to fully protect one’s life, it is worth looking at the trees beside us and reconsidering the meaning of "living together."

Tree columnist · Adjunct professor at Hallym University

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.