 People gather around nutmeg trees at Bijarim on Jeju Island. After forming "sisterhood'' relationships with the trees, they take part in activities to preserve the forest. / Courtesy of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province |
Staff Reporter
Sisterhood relationships can take place between cities, between a company and a local authority, or between a school and a welfare center ― or between a human being and a tree.
In Korea, more than 150 people across the country are ``sisters'' of nutmeg trees at Bijarim, or Nutmeg Tree Forest, on Jeju Island.
The local authority has promoted the special relationship since March 2006 as an effort to raise public interest in one of Jeju's most famous eco-friendly attractions.
A total of 2,878 nutmeg trees aged between 300 to 800 years with a height of seven to 14 meters are growing on an area of 448,165 square meters, which is the world's largest nutmeg-only forest and Korea's Natural Monument No. 374.
Some of the trees are wearing nametags, which indicate they have human sisters.
``Anyone who loves trees and Bijarim can have sisterhood, and 157 people have their sister trees so far,'' said Lim Du-gi, 42, a worker who has managed the forest since 1995.
When a person has the relationship, he or she gets a wallet-size certificate. Every three months, the forest management office sends the human sisters news of their tree sisters through email.
``We tell them how their sisters are doing, such as how much the trees have grown, attaching pictures of the trees. We also offer other news about Jeju, including what flowers you can see and what events you can enjoy on Jeju now,'' Lim said.
When the human sisters revisit the forest, Lim shows pictures of their trees at the time of having the relationship, so that they can see how much the trees have grown. With the certificate, admission is free, Lim said, adding they can also get saplings of nutmeg tree or nuts, which were used to kill parasites in folk remedies.
``Some people reply to the email newsletters, attaching photos of the saplings they are raising in their homes, or asking us what they should do when the saplings are not growing well,'' Lim said.
Kim Seong-young, 57-year-old who runs a shop in Ulsan, got a sisterhood in 2006. ``My dream was to open a tree garden. Although I have not achieved it, I always wanted to keep trees around. The Bijarim management office said it would send news about the trees regularly, so I decided to have a tree sister,'' Kim said.
Kim has replied to the newsletters several times. In one of the emails he sent, Kim told his tree sister how her ``baby,'' the nutmeg sapling that he brought from Bijarim and planted in his garden, was growing. The sender of the email was named ``Bija's brother.'' Bija is nutmeg tree in Korean.
Kang Duk-sam, 64-year-old dentist on Wando Island in South Jeolla Province, said he decided to become a brother of a nutmeg tree as he thought the evergreen tree seemed to have integrity.
``With the regular newsletter, it seems like the tree is close to me although it is far away in reality. I plan to revisit Bijarim to see my sister tree someday,'' Kang said.
Lim of the Bijarim management office said he plans to expand the sisterhood to between those people and farming villages on Jeju, so that they can buy quality farm products at reasonable prices.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
