[Gwanggyo Column by Kim Woo-young] Why Has This Sacred Zelkova Tree on the Hwaseong Fortress Wall in Haenggungs-dong Not Become a Protected Tree?

Halfway along the Hwaseong Fortress Wall between Jangan Gate and Hwaseo Gate stands a massive zelkova tree. Despite its imposing size—with a circumference of 4 meters 50 centimeters at breast height—it has yet to be designated as a protected tree.

When I attended Suwon North Middle School, I lived for a time in a tin-roofed room behind a rice mill connected to an auto repair shop outside Jangan Gate. A friend I visited occasionally lived nearby, and this tree was behind his house.

Since we attended different high schools afterward, I never saw that friend again. His father was a traffic police officer, I was told. I was impressed whenever he appeared on a motorcycle with a sidecar, which was how traffic police rode back then.

Even then, this zelkova tree was immense.

In 2014, poet Shin Kyong-nim published a collection titled ‘The Second Floor of the Photo Studio,’ which includes a poem called ‘The Zelkova Tree Again.’

After all these long years, returning to my hometown,

the zelkova tree in front of the old house stands as large as ever.

I quickly realized I had grown old and fallen ill,

that my eyes had already dimmed and my ears had grown deaf,

yet I did not grieve.

Through eyes where the zelkova tree has grown again,

the world became so beautiful.

With dimmed eyes and deafened ears,

all things in the world became even more beautiful.

It is the same for me. Now past sixty and well into my seventies, having emptied myself of desire, I see this tree appears even more massive through clearer eyes. Moreover, its bearing is confident. It is beautiful. It shows no signs of the hollow cavities or broken branches common to old trees, appearing quite healthy instead.

This tree appears to be over 200 years old.

Its location on the fortress wall inside, between Jangan Gate and Hwaseo Gate, makes it resemble a steadfast general guarding Hwaseong.

Or perhaps it could be seen as the benevolent manifestation of Hwaseong's guardian spirit—a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site.

Especially at dusk, when viewed from below the fortress, it evokes a sense of warmth rather than fear. It harmonizes beautifully with the fortress wall and the Haenggungs-dong village, pleasing to the eye.

It seems I am not alone in feeling this way. Whether day or night, young people can be seen sitting beneath the tree with bright smiles, resting, or taking photographs with it as a backdrop—evidence of the tree's benevolent energy.

The zelkova tree must have witnessed the joys and sorrows of Suwon's people who lived within the fortress. Does it remember my childhood friend being born in the house below, or the two of us scampering like squirrels through the gaps in the crumbling fortress wall?

Yet why does this zelkova tree stand on top of the fortress wall rather than at the village entrance, in the neighborhood center, or in front of administrative buildings?

Hwaseong is an internally-filled fortress wall, with stone forming the outer wall and earth filling the interior.

According to Dr. Han Dong-min, director of the Hwaseong Independence Movement Memorial Hall, trees were planted during construction to prevent the earth-filled interior from collapsing. Various historical records show that trees were planted around fortress walls and facilities.

In 2019, the Suwon City Research Institute published ‘Storytelling Research on Plant Resources Related to Suwon City.’ Research Fellow Kim Eun-young, the author, states that “King Jeongjo's tree-planting projects in Suwon were conducted mainly in the Hyungneung area, but according to the ‘Records of the Construction of Hwaseong Fortress,’ tree-planting took place seven times—in spring and autumn—from 1794 to 1797, in areas including Paldal Mountain, Maehyang-dong, the entire internal fill of the fortress, both sides, Daecheon, outside the fortress near Yongyeon, Gwangil, and areas north of Younghwa-jeong.” Here, ‘internal fill’ refers to the interior portion of the entire fortress wall, and Daecheon refers to the Suwon River embankment.

The same book organizes trees planted around fortress facilities, including wingnut, willow, peach, mulberry, pine, and plum trees. However, no records of planting zelkova trees appear. Perhaps because only the most widely planted species were recorded, zelkova trees were omitted. Or perhaps they were planted later.

Historical photographs confirm that trees once stood lushly in rows along the fortress. Particularly in the 1940 black-and-white film ‘Tuition’—shot during Japanese colonial rule with Suwon and Hwaseong Fortress as backdrop—trees densely planted along the fortress wall, training ground, Changryong Gate, and around Hwaseo Gate can be seen.

‘Tuition’ was filmed with Maehyang Elementary School (now Maehyang Girls’ Middle and High School) in Haenggungs-dong, Paldal-gu, Suwon as its setting. It was produced by Yi Chang-yong of Korea Film Company and jointly directed by Choi In-gyu and Bang Han-jun. Stars included Jung Chan-jo and Kim Jong-il.

With all scenes shot in Suwon, it is precious footage revealing what the city looked like at that time.

In June 2014, the Korean Film Archive acquired a 35mm print from China's Film Archive, underwent restoration, and released it in theaters and on DVD in 2015. I saw the film at a screening held by Suwon City Hall.

Most of the many trees that appeared in the film or were captured in old photographs have since disappeared. Straight trees were felled by the Japanese, and some were cut during the Korean War by refugees to build shelters or used as firewood for heating and cooking.

The Hwaseong fortress wall also suffered considerable damage during that time. Refugees settling beside the fortress took stones and bricks from the wall to build homes. Some say refugees even dismantled the cooking facilities of Hyungneung and Geolleung and used them as firewood.

The tall, stately pine trees on the fortress wall have vanished, but this zelkova tree survived without being felled. Perhaps, no matter how cold and hungry the times, this sacred tree was something no one could bring themselves to touch.