Namhae Mulgeon-ri Coastal Forest

A tide-protection forest (bangjorim) is an artificial forest created to stop seawater from overflowing and to protect farmland and villages, while a fish-gathering forest (eobulim) is a forest that creates a suitable habitat for fish and lures schools of fish. The Bangjo Eobulim of Mulgeon-ri in Namhae was created in the 17th century and serves as both, which is why it is called “Bangjo Eobulim.”
The forest is 750 m long and about 40 m wide, and the trees are generally 10 to 15 m tall. It consists mainly of deciduous broad-leaved trees such as hackberry, muku tree, Chinese elm, Walter's dogwood, sawtooth oak, zelkova, fringe tree and soapberry, along with the evergreen Machilus (Japanese bay tree).
At the end of the 19th century, some trees in the forest were cut down, and that year a storm caused great damage to the village. Thus, the saying that the village would perish if this forest were harmed was passed down, and the villagers have protected the forest, agreeing to pay a fine if they cut trees in the forest. Thanks to this, when a great storm struck in 1933, the damage here was very small compared to neighboring villages, and afterward the villagers protected the forest even more diligently.
To this day, villagers honor the largest fringe tree in the forest as the village guardian deity and hold a ritual every year on the 15th day of the 10th lunar month, praying for the peace of the village.

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