''Gotjawal'' () is a Jeju-language term for a dense and wild forest. The term is now used to describe the forest biome of

Jeju Island Jeju Island (Jeju language, Jeju/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of , which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the province. The i ...

, in

Jeju Province Jeju Province (; ), officially Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (Jeju language, Jeju: ; ), is the southernmost Provinces of South Korea, province of South Korea, consisting of eight inhabited and 55 uninhabited islands, including Marado, Udo ...

, South Korea. ''Gotjawal'' are typically found between the island's central mountain

Hallasan Hallasan () is a shield volcano comprising much of Jeju Island in South Korea. Its summit, at , is the highest point in the country. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, named Hallasan National Park. Hallasan is commonly ...

and the coasts.

Etymology

''Gotjawal'' is a Jeju language term. ''Got'' refers to forests, and ''jawal'' refers to a place with shallow, gravely soil (see also ).

Distribution

There are considered to be four main ''gotjawal'' regions on the island. In order from west to east, they are the Hangyeong–Andeok Gotjawal (), Aewol Gotjawal (), Jocheon–Hamdeok Gotjawal (), and the Gujwa–Seongsan Gotjawal (). Each of these regions are further divided into several parks and individual named ''gotjawal''. These regions are mostly between Hallasan and the western, northern, and eastern coasts of the island, and located at around above sea level. A 2015 news article gave the total area of ''gotjawal'' to be , which accounted for 5.0% of the total land area of Jeju.

Description

''Gotjawal'' play a number of roles in the island's climate and ecosystem. They play a significant role in recharging the

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

. 46% of the rainwater that the ''gotjawal'' areas receive permeates through the lava and soil into the groundwater's

s, via lava structures such as

lava tube A lava tube, more rarely called a pyroduct, is a 'roofed conduit through which molten lava travels away from its vent'. If lava in the tube drains out, it will leave an empty cave. Lava tubes are common in low-viscosity volcanic systems. La ...

s, skylights, clinkers, and cracks. They also create a warm and humid environment that hosts plants that do not thrive elsewhere on the island. They also provide vegetation and cover from rain for local animals. The forests occupy aā lava flow terrain. Song suggests that the forests occupy a mix of such terrain and ''pahoehoe'' lava terrain. They are discontinuous and scattered around various parts of the island. Pond in Gotjawal Forest

The areas are considered to have poor quality soil, and are poorly suited for agriculture or grazing. The forests developed over long periods of time and are considered to be slow to regenerate.

Flora

The flora in each ''gotjawal'' differs. In general, they tend to be diverse and densely packed. There are a wide variety of

ferns The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

in ''gotjawal'', some of which are not found elsewhere in Korea. Plants such as Chinese hackberry,

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...

camellia ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in East Asia, eastern and South Asia, southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are ...

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

, and pine trees can be found.

Protection

Locals once considered ''gotjawal'' to be barren and useless in the past. Especially by the 1970s, significant logging and clearing of ''gotjawal'' occurred. A 2015 article reported that 38.2% of the ''gotjawal'' on Jeju had been cleared in order to create

golf courses A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

or tourist sites. Other significant tracts of ''gotjawal'' were cleared for such developments as the and the . The clearings, especially those for golf courses, have been met by criticism from environmentalists. Sentiment has since shifted to seeing the ''gotjawal'' as valuable, and efforts have been made to preserve them for their unique environment and impact on the island's groundwater. They have been positively metaphorically described as the "lungs of Jeju" (), "nature's lungs" (), and "the lifeline of Jeju's ecosystem" (). Some have advocated for turning the ''gotjawal'' areas into protected national or provincial parks. There are also efforts to increase awareness of ''gotjawal'' by making them more attractive tourist destinations. This has been met with concerns that such curation of the forests could cause damage to them.

References

Additional reading

*Han, Sang-cheol, 2002, {{in lang, ko}
Study on the grouting method of construction of Jeju island groundwater
Cheju National University. *Jang, Yong-chang and Chanwon Lee, 2009, Gotjawal Forest as an internationally important Wetlant, Journal of Korean Wetlands Studies, Vol 11-1, April 2009, pp. 99–104 *Jeong, Gwang-jung, 2004, Gotjawal and the livelihood of Jeju's People, 2004, Jeju Educational College, V. 33, pp. 41~65.

External links

Jeju Gotjawal Provincial Park homepage
– Homepage of the management organization for ''gotjawal'' regions
Gotjawal Saramdeul
– A private organization dedicated to the study and preservation of ''gotjawal'' Tourist attractions in Jeju Province Forests of South Korea Wetlands of South Korea Environment of South Korea Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Ecoregions of Asia Geography of Jeju Province