Sacred Trees (당산나무) and Stone Altars (누석단)

Traditionally, almost every village had a shrine of some sort for the village guardian spirit (서낭 Seonang, 성황 Seonghwang). These shrines (서낭당 Seonang-dang) could take various forms. They could be a small building (신당 Shindang), or a pile of stones (탑신당 Tapshindang, 누석단 Nuseokdan), or a sacred tree (당산나무 Dangsan-namu, 신목 Shinmok), or a combination of those. These sacred places were usually outside of the village, often beside the entrance road to the village, and they were the location for the community's periodic rituals for protection, prosperity and a good harvest (or a bountiful catch in coastal fishing villages). The spirit trees are distinguished by having a left-twisted straw rope (금줄 Geumjul) around them signifying their sacred nature, often festooned with strips of white mulberry paper, white cloth, or streamers of five-colored cloth (오색천 Osaekcheon). Here are some examples of these sacred trees and stone altars.
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