[Ko Gyuhong's Trees and People] Like a Tank... The Tangja Tree Fortress That Repelled Foreign Invasions

Ganghwado as a Temporary Royal Refuge in the Joseon Dynasty... Used as a Wooden Palisade Surrounding an Urgently Built Earthen Fortress
Natural Monument Cheonja Tree in Gapgot-ri and Sagiri... Surviving Nearly 300 Years
Standing Tall as the Largest Cheonja Tree in Korea, Fighting the Cold Winds After Leaving Its Southern Homeland

A short video titled 'A Truly Strange Country' caught attention. It is a video promoting our unique way of coping with the COVID-19 crisis. Although the video, which emphasizes the dedication of volunteer manpower, might seem excessive, it is an undeniable fact.

Our national character of voluntarily stepping forward to save a country in distress might appear strange to Westerners, who have developed individualism. However, for us, who have lived through a long history of invasions and overcoming hardships, it is nothing unusual.

John Dewey (1859?1952), an American philosopher, pointed out in 'Reconstruction in Philosophy' (1920) that 'memory' is the distinguishing feature between humans and animals. Animals cannot associate new behaviors or pain with the past, but "humans always look back and think about past events when something happens," he noted.

Our people, living at the edge of the Eurasian continent, which was frequently invaded, have a way of life that involves rising up on their own. When national crises struck, we recalled the glorious memories of past victories and stood up again. Ultimately, the long struggles and overcoming hardships remained as the memories of the people living on this land. And memory became a unique DNA of the nation, undergoing a distinctive evolutionary path. The DNA preserved within us also spread to other living beings coexisting on this land. Trees are among them.

There are trees on this land that abandoned both their hometown and nature to live solely for the security of the nation. These trees lived with the single-minded determination to protect the country from invasions. The tanghyeon trees of Gapgot-ri and Sagiri in Ganghwa are exactly those.

To understand the story of these trees, we must first look at the history of Ganghwa Island, especially its troubled history as a royal refuge.

Ganghwa Island was used as a royal refuge starting from the Goryeo period when the Mongol invasions occurred. The primary reason was its proximity to Gaegyeong, where the royal court was located, and the fact that invaders were strong in land warfare but weak in naval battles.

It was the same during the 1627 Jeongmyo Horan. The Later Jin, which was in conflict with the declining Ming dynasty, invaded Joseon with an army of 30,000. At that time, King Injo of Joseon abandoned the neutral policy of King Gwanghaegun and maintained an anti-Jin, pro-Ming stance.

Joseon's defense lines collapsed instantly. Disguised in civilian clothes, Injo fled to Ganghwa Island. However, the effect was minimal. Without even benefiting from the refuge, the Joseon royal court was forced into a humiliating peace treaty, agreeing not to use the Ming era name and sending hostages, thus ending the crisis.

The Ganghwa Sagiri Quince Tree, still bearing abundant and sturdy quinces after 400 years of long history.

Nine years later, in 1636, the Later Jin, renamed Qing, invaded Joseon again. This was the Byeongja Horan. Injo, desperate to flee, tried to escape to Ganghwa Island via Namhansanseong Fortress. However, due to the difficulty of traveling snowy mountain paths, he had no choice but to stay at Namhansanseong. Ultimately, lacking the strength to resist the invaders, Injo had to endure another humiliating surrender and even gave up his prince as a hostage.

The Joseon royal court, unable to forget the humiliating memories, needed a strategy. That is why they tried to establish various facilities on Ganghwa Island as a royal refuge (bojangji). However, according to the treaty signed during the Byeongja Horan, new fortress walls could not be built without Qing's permission. While struggling with this, political turmoil erupted in Qing. Taking advantage of this, Joseon strengthened the refuge facilities on Ganghwa Island. Starting with the dondae (fortified platforms serving as watchtowers and artillery posts), they built the Ganghwa Outer Fortress and Munsusan Fortress and established a management system. This was during King Sukjong's reign.

The fortress hastily built with earth on Ganghwa Island at that time could not withstand the strong sea winds that blew throughout the year. It was prone to collapse. To prepare for future crises, the fortress needed to be repaired more solidly. It was then that the tanghyeon tree first appeared in records. This is found in the 'Bibyeonsa Deungnok' (Records of the Border Defense Council), dated August 20, 1749, the 25th year of King Yeongjo's reign. It was a report written in the form of a memorial by Won Gyeong-ha, the magistrate of Ganghwa.

In the record, there is a passage stating, "It is heartbreaking that more than half of the fortress collapsed due to the monsoon rains." It also mentions a strategy to build a long fortress without spending much on repairs. The suggestion was that if the people of Ganghwa planted trees diligently, they could build a fortress-like barrier stretching 200 ri within 6 to 7 years.

Then, "Outside, the vast sea naturally forms a moat, making this defense strategy unsurpassed. The soil along the coast is most suitable for planting tanghyeon trees, and many forts and outposts have become dense forests," wrote Won Gyeong-ha. He also emphasized the effectiveness of the tanghyeon tree fortress by stating, "The reason General Choi Yeong of Goryeo failed to conquer Tamna (Jeju Island) was because of the hidden thorn fence (tanghyeon tree palisade)."

The tanghyeon tree was chosen to strengthen the weak earth fortress defenses. This was a remembrance of General Choi Yeong's tanghyeon tree palisade. However, the problem was that tanghyeon trees did not grow naturally in the Ganghwa region. Tanghyeon trees thrive in warm climates. Although today they grow even in areas north of Ganghwa, in the 1960s Ganghwa was the northern limit for tanghyeon trees.

Nevertheless, the Joseon royal court accepted Won Gyeong-ha's proposal. They urgently decided to bring tanghyeon trees from Yeongnam and plant them. The tanghyeon trees left their warm southern homes to protect the royal court, braving the harsh winds to defend the country. They abandoned their nature and set out to overcome the national crisis.

The tanghyeon trees that came north to prepare for the crisis endured hardships. However, over time, one by one, they died. Of the many tanghyeon trees, only two remain now: the Gapgot-ri tanghyeon tree and the Sagiri tanghyeon tree in Ganghwa. After nearly 300 years, these two trees have become the largest tanghyeon trees in Korea and have been designated natural monuments.

The Gapgot-ri tanghyeon tree, which has multiple trunks branching from the root, is quite large for a tanghyeon tree, standing 4.2 meters tall with a root circumference of 2.1 meters. The tree stands on the eastern coast of Ganghwa Island, where the 'Ganghwa History Museum,' now called the 'War Museum,' is located. It remains as a clear trace of the turbulent history on a hill beside the Gapgot Fortress. The low sloping hill where the tree stands likely helped shield it from the sea winds and cold.

The tangor tree in Gapgot-ri, Ganghwa has lived for a long time, bearing scars all over its trunk, yet it still maintains a healthy appearance.

The thick branch extending westward from the Tangja tree in Sagi-ri, Ganghwa, clearly shows traces of filling material used to fill the part where the bark had long ago decayed and only the bark remained.

The situation of the Sagiri tanghyeon tree is different. Standing alone in a field, the Sagiri tanghyeon tree has survived several life-threatening crises. The harsh cold winds were what challenged the tree most. There was nothing to protect it from the sea winds. It barely survived, but a significant part of its trunk had long since rotted. People removed the rotten parts and reinforced the hollow spaces with fillers. However, the tree's growth condition did not improve much.

Despite people's earnest efforts to preserve the memory of invasions, the branches of the tanghyeon tree extending westward completely died. The dead branches leaned pitifully against a large rock beside the tree, while only the straight branches growing eastward survived.

At its prime, the Sagiri tanghyeon tree was similar in height and root thickness to the Gapgot-ri tanghyeon tree, but after enduring many hardships, its current appearance falls far short. It now stands about 3.6 meters tall. Recently, new branches have begun to sprout beside the pitifully surviving eastern branches, reviving old memories.

The two tanghyeon trees of Ganghwa Island have been reborn with the appearance of suffering and have become living evidence that faithfully remembers the history of our lives, marked by relentless trials and overcoming hardships. Looking at the tanghyeon trees, which remain as memories of pain, will be a way to revive our precious memories that might be forgotten and to gain wisdom to live longer and healthier as humans and as a nation of a 'truly strange country.'

Ko Gyu-hong, Tree Columnist · Director of Cheollipo Arboretum

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