Quince Tree of Yeonje-ri, Cheongju

Just over 2 km north-west of Osong KTX Station, in the middle of a small park in the Osong biotech complex, stands a Chinese quince tree around 500 years old. With its gnarled, twisting trunk and mottled bark, it is one of the largest quince trees in Korea, and a story involving King Sejo of the Joseon dynasty helped earn it the status of a national Natural Monument.

The scholar who wanted to be a useless tree

Early in the reign of King Sejo (r. 1455–1468), a scholar named Ryu Yun of the Seosan Ryu clan was living in retirement in this village. When the king summoned him to court, Ryu did not bother with long excuses. He simply pointed to this quince tree and declined, saying he was as useless as the tree. The king, so the story goes, responded by writing out in his own hand the words "Mudong Cheosa" (楙洞處士), "the hermit of Quince Village", and sending them to him. The king who was turned down ended up giving the scholar a title.

The village has long been known as Mogaul. It was the home of many generations of the Miryang Bak clan and includes the house site of the Joseon Confucian scholar Bak Hun (1484–1540).

What to see

• The trunk: thick, twisting and deeply ridged, showing all the character of an old quince tree.
• The bark: reddish-brown and green patches peel off like scales. Up close, the bark alone makes a striking photo.
• Flowers and fruit: pale pink blossoms open in May, and yellow quinces hang from the branches in autumn. The fruit is strongly fragrant and is used to make tea and liqueur.
• Size: the trunk measures more than 3 m around at chest height and the crown spreads close to 13 m. Sources give its height as anywhere from 9.6 m to 12.5 m.

Good to know

The Chinese quince belongs to the rose family and grows in China and Japan; in Korea it is planted mainly from the central regions southwards. The Joseon writer Heo Gyun even named Yecheon in North Gyeongsang as the main quince-growing area in his food guide, the Domundaejak. Quinces smell lovely but look lumpy, and Koreans have long compared plain-looking people to them, which makes Ryu Yun's choice of this tree to belittle himself all the more fitting. The tree became a North Chungcheong provincial monument in 2000 and was upgraded to a Natural Monument on 13 January 2011. In 2013 it was damaged by rust disease, which leaves orange spots on leaves and fruit, but it is now in fairly good health.

Tripto tips

• Getting there: the address is 647 Yeonje-ri, Osong-eup, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju. It is about 2 km from Osong Station, served by KTX and SRT high-speed trains, so a short taxi ride or a walk of around 30 minutes. It is a good way to fill a long wait between trains at Osong.
• Time needed: 20–30 minutes is enough to walk slowly around the tree.
• When to go: May for the pink blossom, or autumn when the yellow fruit ripens.
• Worth knowing: the tree is fenced off, so do not step inside or touch the branches. Walk the park paths and look at it from different sides to appreciate its shape.