Mt. Halla - and Human life in the past

Located in the center of Jeju island, the mountain was a backdrop for human life. In fact, residents in Jeju island had benefited from Mt. Halla. Today I'd like to talk about how people took advantage from Mt. Halla in the past.

*Horse grazing
Horse grazing is one of the best examples. Mt. halla provided the best environment for horse grazing. Halla mountain is located at the center of Jeju island, shaping gentle slopes around itself. Numerous streams shaped by rainfall that flows from the high altitude of the mountain to the lower play roles as fences that horses cannot easily jump over. These topographical characteristics enabled humans to graze horses. According to Chung et al (2006), horse grazing led to the population increase and economic development in ancient Jeju society. Certainly, horse grazing was one of the bases of everyday life in Jeju society. Nowadays, horses are also used for tourism. If you visit Jeju island, you will see lots of horse farms where you can actually ride a horse for a certain amount of time.

Horse grazing in Jeju Island

http://english.jeju.go.kr/index.php/contents/community/inside-jeju?act=view&seq=913&bd_bcid=en_inside&page=32

*Providing living supplies
In addition to providing an environment for horse gazing, Mt. Halla also gave plants to humans for everyday life. People paid a tribute with medicine, timber or spices that were grown in Mt. Halla. When they had a bad rice harvest, people survived by eating Jooksil, the fruit of Nojook tree grown in Mt. Halla. In addition, the Vija tree, which is also grown in the mountain, is known for its versatile use. Its trunk had been used for timber, its fruits were used for pesticide, food, and medicine, and is extracted oil was used for cooking, lamps, and hair.

Vija tree

http://blog.yahoo.com/_SRN7RIDEJS4XSI2ODPWXLFEXKI/articles/147077

*Natural refrigerators
Moreover, some caves in Mt. Halla were used as "natural refrigerators". Ancestors kept ice during the winter and used the ice in the summer.

Our ancestors benefited from Mt. Halla in many different ways: horse grazing, food, medicine, timber, spices, or natural refrigerator. Nowadays the mountain and humans still have a close relationship. Next time I would like to talk about how Mt. Halla is currently used in human lives. Thank you!

<References>

Jung, Kwang-Joong, et al. The series for Mt. Halla: Human Geography of Mt. Halla. Jeju: Gak, 2006. Web. 

Jung, Kwang-Joong, et al. The series for Mt. Halla: History and remains of Mt. Halla. Jeju: Gak, 2006. Web. 

“Mt. Halla, the symbol of the nation.” Jeju.grandculture.net, n.d. Web. 27 October. 2012.

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