Pohang Odori Columnar Jointing, Nationally Designated Cultural Property (Natural Monument) Designation Notice

Excellent Potential Tourist Resource with Natural Heritage Value

Final Designation Announced After Collecting Residents' Opinions

Pohang City announced that the Cultural Heritage Administration has given prior notice of designation of ‘Pohang Odori Columnar Joint (浦項 烏島里 柱狀節理, Columnar Joint in Odo-ri, Pohang)’ as a Nationally Designated Cultural Property (Natural Monument).

Pohang Odori Columnar Jointing.

The ‘Pohang Odori Columnar Joint’ is a place densely packed with columnar joints of various shapes and sizes with different orientations, including vertical columnar joints in hexagonal or pentagonal shapes covering the entire island, and horizontal columnar joints overlapping at angles from 0˚ to 45˚, a form that is not well known domestically.

Although the columnar joint appears to be divided into 3 to 4 islands to the naked eye, it is presumed to be a single (one mass) columnar joint because the directions and shapes of the columnar joints are connected and continuously distributed without internal discontinuity planes.

Pohang Odori Columnar Jointing.

It is a black-colored island located about 100 meters away from the breakwater of Odori, Heunghae, Pohang, harmonizing beautifully with the surrounding blue sea.

Columnar joints are geological structures consisting of groups of volcanic rock columns that form as magma remaining underground during volcanic activity cools, contracts, and cracks regularly. In Korea, four places are designated and protected as natural monuments: Jeju Jungmun Daepo Coast Columnar Joint, Gyeongju Yangnam Columnar Joint Cluster, Pohang Daljeon-ri Columnar Joint, and Mudeungsan Columnar Joint Area.

The ‘Pohang Odori Columnar Joint’ is presumed to be a Cenozoic Tertiary volcanic rock, like the columnar joints in the Pohang, Gyeongju, and Ulsan regions, and is believed to have been formed by various volcanic activities during the process when the Japanese archipelago, which had been attached to the Korean Peninsula since about 23 million years ago, separated and the East Sea opened.

It shows the process of forming columnar joints of various shapes, sizes, and directions as magma cools, giving it high geological value. The columnar joints, concentrated on a single island close to the mainland and harmonizing with the sea, also have excellent scenic value and are well preserved.

Last year, the city recommended ‘Pohang Odori Columnar Joint’ to the Cultural Heritage Administration as an ‘Excellent Potential Natural Heritage Resource.’

This is a project by the Cultural Heritage Administration to select excellent potential natural heritage resources from local governments nationwide for designation as nationally designated cultural properties. The Cultural Heritage Administration recognized the ‘Pohang Odori Columnar Joint’ recommended by the city as a natural heritage of high geological value through on-site investigations by geological experts including cultural heritage committee members.

During the 30-day prior notice period, the Cultural Heritage Administration and Pohang City are collecting opinions from local residents and related organizations. If there are no separate opinions, after the final review by the Cultural Heritage Committee, the ‘Pohang Odori Columnar Joint’ will be officially designated as a Nationally Designated Cultural Property (Natural Monument).

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