South Chungcheong Province forest research institute cultivates successor trees from Gwangdeoksa walnut, a Natural Monument, to guard against aging and natural disasters
A research project to cultivate successor trees from the walnut tree at Gwangdeoksa temple in Cheonan — a Natural Monument (No. 398) with a 700-year history — is gaining momentum.
The South Chungcheong Province Forest Resources Research Institute said Monday the project has been under way since last year. It aims to secure successor trees as a safeguard against the aging of the Gwangdeoksa walnut and potential natural disasters, while preserving and making use of its superior genetic resources.
The project involves grafting scions collected from the Natural Monument walnut tree to produce new seedlings.
The institute plans to select the best-growing candidate trees by 2028, building a conservation population that would allow the original tree to be restored from the same genetic line if it were ever damaged.
The successor trees will be planted in an arboretum being developed as part of the institute's planned relocation to Cheongyang, where they will support genetic lineage conservation, related research, and education and exhibition activities.
The Gwangdeoksa walnut tree traces its origins to September 1290, the 16th year of the reign of Goryeo King Chungnyeol, when scholar Yu Cheong-sin — posthumously honored with the title Yeongmilgong — brought back walnut seedlings and nuts from the Yuan dynasty in China while escorting the king's carriage on his return.
According to tradition, the seedling was planted inside Gwangdeoksa temple while the nuts were sown in the courtyard of Yu's ancestral home. Recognized for its high cultural and biological value, the tree was designated a Natural Monument on Dec. 23, 1988, and has been protected ever since.
Woo Seok-seong, director of the South Chungcheong Province Forest Resources Research Institute, said the Natural Monument walnut tree is "a precious forest resource that embodies the region's history and culture," adding that the institute would work to "cultivate and manage the successor trees in good health so that its unique genetic resources can be preserved and its value passed on to future generations."
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
