A zelkova tree, a symbol of longevity and the unyielding spirit, being moved to Wolmyeongdong

There are various reasons for which a tree would make people stop and for which it would attract them to look at itself. While there are trees that attract people to look at themselves because they have beautiful flowers - such as Japanese flowering cherry tree, cherry tree and camelia, there are also trees that catch people’s eyes with their majesty. If people were asked to pick one tree like this, they would pick the zelkova tree.  

It is called ‘Goemok*,’ ‘Gyumok*,’ ‘Gwemok*,’ and ‘Geo*.’ Zelkova trees have a strong tendency to be round in shape, because their branches grow evenly in all directions and the bark falls off like fish scales. They grow to a height of 26m and a diameter of 3m, and they grow quickly when they are saplings. In addition, they grow well on fertile ground and like sunlight. The crown of the tree is wide, spreads evenly to all directions, creates a thick, leafy shade, and does not have harmful insects. Its leaves change beautifully into the colors of autumn, so it carries out its function as a shade tree for the entrance of the village in the most exceptional way. This is the zelkova tree. 

(Translator’s note: ‘Geomok’ is a kind of locust tree, ‘Gyumok’ is a ash tree, ‘Gwemok’ is the same as ‘Geomok,’ and ‘Geo’ means zakova tree in Chinese character.)

One such zelkova tree was moved from Chungbuk Boeun on March 29th to the Wolmyeongdong persimmon tree parking lot. The zelkova tree that was moved was about five metres tall, and 100 cm in diameter. This tree was actually moved in a difficult manner and so received prayer from members from the Wolmyeongdong Church even prior to its being moved here. 

More than three years ago, when Pastor Jung, Myeong-seok was looking for a tree that was two to three meters tall that he could move to Wolmyeongdong, he found this zelkova tree in Chungbuk Boeun. He said, “It doesn’t grow well when it is a sapling, but if it grows to a certain size, it will pick up the momentum of growth and will grow well, so let’s bring it.” Therefore, we came to bring it to Wolmyeongdong.

We dug up the ground and checked the tree so that we could move it. However, because of the road-widening development that had taken place the previous year, the tree trunk had been covered by dirt up to the height of about one metre; as such, one third of it roots had become rotten. Because the roots were so rotten, there was a high likelihood that the tree would die, so we were about to give up on bringing it to Wolmyeongdong. However, Pastor Jung Myeong-seok said, “Let’s try to bring it back to life,” and so we came to move it to the Wolmyeongdong Persimmon Tree Parking Lot. 

 

Pastor Lee, Min-woo--who was in charge of moving the tree to a temporary place - said, “There were so many difficult conditions surrounding the operation of moving of this zelkova tree. Water was coming out of the ground and there were many utility poles, so we pruned it in a difficult way, by using a crane. It was a situation in which everything was difficult, but, because God worked upon it, miraculously, it was able to be moved here.” He also added, “Even though this tree has many rotten roots, it struggled to grow new branches so that it could live even in that bad condition. If this tree comes back to life, it will be a really great tree-antique. Even if it dies, it will become a great sculpture as an artwork/handiwork.”

The tree displayed the strong vitality of struggling to live even in that difficult situation, and it was moved miraculously to Wolmyeongdong by the working of God. We pray that this tree will remain beautifully, only according to God’s Will.