What contribution have Christmas-unenthusiastic Koreans made to the Western tradition of celebrations on the day when Jesus was allegedly born?
For those who have given up guessing, here is a tip ― check your Christmas tree.
According to Korea's National Institute of Biological Resources (NIBR), it is a Korean fir tree, which he says is one of the most popular trees used for this special occasion, although most Western Christmas enthusiasts may be unaware of this.
The institute is working hard to have its claim officially recognized, as it may enable Korea, as a place of origin, to claim a slice of the profits from their commercial use.
According to the institute, the Korean fir is an indigenous evergreen, which grows on the slopes of Mt. Halla, Mt. Jiri and Mt. Deokyu.
The ``type specimen'' of the Korean fir tree currently belongs to the Smithsonian Institution in the U.S. A European botanist took the specimen out of Korea in 1904 and donated it to the institute.
``It is lucky that there is a type specimen ― even in an overseas location ― to prove the origin of the plant or animal is Korea. There are many more species of our indigenous creatures being used without recognition,'' Kil Hyun-jong of the NIBR said. ``That is why a type specimen is so important as it is proof of origin.''
The NIBR currently houses approximately 1.6 million specimens and expects the number to increase to 5 million by 2030.
The institute estimates at least 20,000 type specimens were taken out of the country and some 280 of those are being used commercially.
Korea plans to insist on a ``recovery of rights'' at the Convention on Biological Diversity next year.
Kil said there will be discussions regarding the right to trade plants and animals. ``We will try to restore our rights for original Korean fauna and flora,'' he added.
Though the tree originated from, and is now growing in Korea, companies in the West recognized the value of the tree first and made profits from it, Kil said.
Other than Korean fir, the Netherlands has type specimen rights to the Korean lily, Hungary has stonefly type specimens and the U.S. has those of the dark sleeper and northern loaches, both fresh-water fish indigenous to Korea, he added.
This was also blogged by What the Kimchi??? You'll find a story here, in Korean with video, from YTN. The oft-cringeworthy Arirang TV did a segment on this called "The Lost Right of the Christmas Tree" for its December 25th edition; an excerpt:
An interesting fact about Christmas tree.
Most people may not be aware of this... but Korea's National Institute of Biological Resources says... it's a Korean fir tree... that is one of the most popular trees used for Christmas.
The Korean fir is an indigenous evergreen... that grows on the slopes of major mountains in the country.
Eoh Jin-joo has more.
The Korean fir is a tree that is commonly known as a Christmas tree in the United States and Europe.
The clear, triangle shape and its conspicuous green color is just right for the Christmas atmosphere.
However, not many people know that the tree was an indigenous plant found only in Korea.
Wikipedia has more on the Abies koreana, the "Korean fir." I'm certainly no expert on Christmas trees or Christmas tree cultivation, but a quick look shows that these Korean firs are not even listed among the trees commonly grown for use at Christmas, let alone "one of the most popular trees used for this special occasion." The Times story is characteristically vague, not mentioning the scientific name of the fir, the man who introduced it to the west, where it is believed to enjoy popularity, or how that popularity is calculated. But it does succeed in conveying the arrogance and the crassness of the NIBR man who, after suggesting that Korea might have a small role in a celebration associated with one of the biggest holidays in the world---one Korea does not really celebrate in any traditional sense---shows he's most interested in getting paid and in avenging what is perceived as Korea's loss.
As an aside, I graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, located in a county that calls itself "The Christmas Tree Capital of the World." The Indiana County Christmas Tree Growers website, if that's any authority, doesn't list it as among the most popular tree types grown there.
35 comments:
The Christian lore states that Christmas Trees originated in Germany (of course there's a story about Latvia), and since your last name is associated with almost anything about Germany, then maybe you can shed light about the truthfulness of Korea's claim :) (kidding)
The Korea Times describes Koreans as "Christmas-unenthusiastic"? Ouch, my world-view.
Thank you for pointing this out:
"The Times story is characteristically vague, not mentioning the scientific name of the fir, the man who introduced it to the west, where it is believed to enjoy popularity, or how that popularity is calculated"
That kind of claim requires some evidence, but other than the fact that Korea has an indigenous conifer, and conifers are Christmas trees, the evidence is pretty sparse.
I went down the hall and consulted the Christmas expert, who assured me that Christmas trees were being used indoors as early as the 1500s, and decorated in the familiar sense in the 1600s.
Just because a conifer was brought out of Korean in 1904 doesn't mean that the Christmas tree itself was "found only in Korea" let alone "originated" there.
I would love to know why this institute (and others) work so hard to prove Korea's unique qualities on the global stage. Time and time again, it backfires and makes them look ridiculous.
So let me get this straight...this Korean organization is claiming rights to what is essentially a modern remnant of ancient European pagan tree worship rites that somehow survived in Germany up to the 19th century when it was popularized in England by Queen Victoria's German-born consort? Amazing.
Indiana of Pennsylvania? I love it when they play California of Pennsylvania or Miami of Ohio in football. Personally I went to Seoul National of Pohang.
@Douglas,
According to my source (the author of this book: http://www.amazon.com/World-Encyclopedia-Christmas-Gerry-Bowler/dp/0771015356/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261873074&sr=8-1) , I think it's fair to say that conifers were being taken indoors, decorated and associated with Christmas in the 1500s. Outdoor coniferous greenery in winter, i.e., boughs and poles, was common in Europe well before that time, however.
So, I hear that Mexico is asking for, like, 300 years of back-taxes on Hot Peppers, which were imported here, without the permission of the Mexican natives.
IUP, class of 1991
"The Korean fir is a tree that is commonly known as a Christmas tree in the United States and Europe.
The clear, triangle shape and its conspicuous green color is just right for the Christmas atmosphere.
However, not many people know that the tree was an indigenous plant found only in Korea."
I don't know what is more disturbing their ignorance or arrogance.
I think we can safely say that Korea is the originator of the "Little Man of Asia Complex."
Do Koreans really think the trees all across the world were planted?
"Firs (Abies) are a genus of between 48-55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae." (Wikipedia)
So out of all those species across the world (and they all pretty much look similar) the tree that we are using the most in the "West" are from Korea? How the heck would they determine that? Even if they went to every tree farm what about the millions of people who go into the forest an just cut one down?
Kermo,
I agree. From what I've read the decoration of trees during solstice celebrations is ancient and pre-Christian (and definitely not Korean!. It survived despite the church's desperate attempts to stamp it out and, like so much of pagan ritual, was eventually co-opted to the Christian holiday, along with mistle-toe, holly, yule logs and the like. An interesting read is: "Pagan Christmas" by Christian Ratsch and Claudia Muller-Ebeling.
DG, such comments aren't welcome here and will be removed.
Anyway, just to be fair---sometimes I hate doing that---he's/they're not claiming the tradition of the Christmas tree started in Korea, but rather the type of tree commonly used is the Korean fir, a descendant of those taken out in 1904.
Of course, there's no evidence to support that the Korean fir is common, and the Times article is quite vague. But if the Times is really descending into tabloid status---some may say it's already there---then it doesn't really matter and they don't need facts or evidence.
Brian, for me at least, the times is there. It is just a rag like the Enquirer. 0 journalistic ability or integrity.
When I went to find the article on Koreans claiming the Christmas tree is Korean I had to look in the Nation section of the KT.
One would think the Nation section would be about ... well ... the Nation that is Korea. Some of the drek I had to sift through to fin the Christmas tree article had NOTHING to do with Korea.
The best example of what I mean is an article titled "Me! Dog. Not Horse!" About the possibly world's largest dog in Arizona.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/12/113_57813.html
Wow, Arizona is in Korea now? I won't even get into the flatulent pig article.
This is the depths the Korea Times has sunk. It gives tabloids a bad name.
This phrase says it all:
"to claim a slice of the profits from their commercial use."
Korea if you will give me a second of your time....
I bought a bonzai tree from the principal of my school to use as a small christmas tree. I took a picture of it. It is is on by blog at http://jinjufuntimes2.blogspot.com/
I paid him 60,000 won for two. If Korea as a nation wants profits from Christmas trees, then I suggest that the Nation of Korea, buys up some land in Montana or Canada or something to make a big ass Christmas tree farm. Otherwise you Korea as a nation should realize that there is no international money granting organization that gives countries or people money for having the first of something.
Also you, Korea, should realize something else. Pine trees are pine trees. Nobody fucking cares. You can call a douglas fir a Korean fir and ask for money all day if you want, but if you, Korea, as a country, go to the united nations and have your diplomats talk up the Korean fir, people will politely say, "hmm that's interesting," and then go talk to someone else.
That aside, my little banseong tree that I bought from the principal of my school was a very nice Christmas tree. I bought a few cheap ornaments for it and decorated it. Since the thing is a living tree in a pot, maybe it can grow by next year and I can buy some more ornaments. Since I also got married this year, it can be a symbol for the growing of me and my wife's relationship or somehting like that. There, that is a Christmas tradition that I just made up, and is somewhat nice, I didn't have to go and claim any thousand year precident for it, I made something of my own for the future. (Yeah and to my co-teacher who saw the picture of my tree and said that it needed more ornaments...Youre just jealous cuz I kissed up to the principal and came up with an idea that would have never crossed your mind in a million years.)
I'm with Douglas. Wasn't the Christmas tree loosely based around a pagan ritual regarding the ingestion of red/white hallucinogenic mushrooms, grown beneath coniferous tress, and the climbing of a dwelling's chimney to signify a right of passage? OR was it something my parents made up?
It seems that chasing down the meaning/truth of such nationalistic claims takes up more and more of my time in Korea these days. The other day a monk @ the ferry stop told me Shakespeare lifted "Hamlet" from the life of Taejo, an emperor from the Choseon Dynasty days. I've yet to press this one too hard. Anyone got any insight?
I'm fairly certain that few Koreans wish to propagate such outrageous claims, especially in the international scene, but it strikes me as symptomatic of what passes for conversation, teaching, reporting, etc. in Korea. I see things like this and wonder how Korea is perceived and prosperous on the world stage. Then I look to my own nation, USA-leaders of media hype and bullshit. Hopefully Korea won't start any wars to bring Christmas tree truth to other nations.
This nutcase has been assured a lifetime supply of fruitcakes from Christmas enthusiasts across the world.
Oh yeah, don't forget the Korea Times - a lump of coal for them for giving space to this guy.
It would be interesting to see if an English translation of the life of Taejo was in existance in London, or if William Shakespear was fluent in reading Chinese characters. If either case is true then Hamlet is still a remarkable play adaptation that could be considered one of his histories, if not then I'm pretty sure that Shakespeare plagerized works like Henry the VIII or Julius Ceasar. (Did anybody know that Henry the VIII was based on an English King named Henry the VIII.)
My mistake, Julius Ceasar was a tragety.
Just for kicks, I found the National Christmas Tree Association (US based) to see what trees *are* most popular: Balsam, Frasier, and Noble Firs; Douglas Firs; Scotch, Virginia, and White Pines. None of these have the same scientific name as the Korean Fir mentioned in the article. As a matter of fact, the Korean Fir would be a poor choice as a Christmas tree because of its prolific cone production and relatively slow growth compared to other pines and firs, despite its noted color and conical shape. I did find listings for the fir among the offerings of a few tree farms, but they seem to be relatively new on the scene, with farmers still experimenting with them (apparently they have good needle retention.) They seem to have had some limited popularity as decorative garden trees, but most of the people growing them praise the trees for the colorful (purple!) cones.
Good quote from comments on the article:
ezlife4me (71.32.195.128) 12-25-2009 13:46
Hot News! A research institute in Panama is now claiming to be the source of red pepper. The institute is working hard to have its claim officially recognized, as it may enable Panama, as a place of origin, to claim a slice of the profits from their commercial use. Expect Peru to follow suit concerning potatoes
There appear to be several species of tree used at christmas time.
The connection between the Korean fir and the oddly unnamed species of tree being used in the west is quite hazy in the article.
The wackloon in the article seems to imply a sample of a Korean evergreen was taken in 1904 and well people use evergreens at chirstmas time so. There you go. The reporter seems 100% unaware that various species are popularly used as christmas trees.
Of course, it would be rather simple case to prove. Sequence the DNA from a Korean fir. Sequence the DNA of this amazingly un-named "popular" tree. It's so amazingly popular the Korean reporter was 100% unable to come up with a name for it.
More fine, integrity free reporting from the KT it seems.
@ fattycat
"So out of all those species across the world (and they all pretty much look similar) the tree that we are using the most in the "West" are from Korea? How the heck would they determine that?"
-- They look similar "only" to the untrained eye. Thats what science is all about. There's an objective way of measuring/analyzing it. The small differences resulted to what you mentioned as the various "species".
@ PW
"Of course, it would be rather simple case to prove. Sequence the DNA from a Korean fir. Sequence the DNA of this amazingly un-named "popular" tree"
-- In my opinion, thats more complicated, but of course plausible. If no marker sequence exists within the extremely large genome of the genus Abies, then its a useless effort. Besides, species classification was originally based on phenotypes, and rarely on the DNA level. I suggest "species hybridization", since thats how Ernst Mayr popularized the species concept, "species" as interbreeding population. That is my ockham's razor solution.
-- In my opinion, thats more complicated, but of course plausible. If no marker sequence exists within the extremely large genome of the genus Abies, then its a useless effort. Besides, species classification was originally based on phenotypes, and rarely on the DNA level. I suggest "species hybridization", since thats how Ernst Mayr popularized the species concept, "species" as interbreeding population. That is my ockham's razor solution.
I gather the Korean claim is the sample taken in 1904 was used to breed an un-named but popular species of christmas tree. The wackaloon claims the original sample is still available. ("The ``type specimen'' of the Korean fir tree currently belongs to the Smithsonian Institution in the U.S. A European botanist took the specimen out of Korea in 1904 and donated it to the institute.")
If the "stolen" brand has the original as its common ancestor, the "children" of the Korean fir will share many ERVs or other junk dna markers as the original.
Where's the hard part?
I would imagine that's what the NIBR is trying to do. Korean firs might have been used to hybridize firs abroad and they're curious about that.
I suspect the NIBR isn't really doing what the reporter claims they're doing. The KT reporter just doesn't understand crap about what he was sent to report on and probably just made up quotes.
"Where's the hard part?"
Interesting discussion. The big drawback here is we dont know what the NIBR really wants, since the science writer seems to be scientifically incompetent (maybe). The hard part in my opinion is first, ERVs or junk DNAs is not well evident in the Plantae Kingdom, but well studied in Mammalia (e.g. humans, animals etc). Of course, some studies exists in literature, but in times of scientific confusion we will always resort to a proven laboratory and scientific scheme. Im sure none of us is confused regarding the usefulness of ERVs in setting up phylogenetic trees (evolutionary trees ("diagrams" regardless of species) as opposed to investigating direct lineage of trees (as plants). And another thing is, the supposed sample was donated roughly 100 years ago, too short for changes or similarities in DNA to become useful (considering the life span of trees). Just my thoughts.
And another thing is, the supposed sample was donated roughly 100 years ago, too short for changes or similarities in DNA to become useful (considering the life span of trees). Just my thoughts.
These people are doing it:
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/4094/1/Finlaysonreport.pdf
Although you're right, they don't seem fully confident cp-DNA sequencing allows you to take an unknown tree and make a species determination 100% of the time with full confidence. (We can't make 100% racial identification given an unknown sample of human DNA although it still can be in the 80% accuracy range.)
I think that's why the NIBR guy was so excited. If seeds of the Korean fir taken in 1904 were simply planted and renamed ("The Righteous Japanese Fir"), then they should have nearly identical matches and their case is easy to prove.
It's more likely the case someone there thinks some un-named species looks phenotypically similar to the Korean fir and they've found a possible route by which the Korean fir could have reached North American shores and been planted long before anyone gave a fly fuk about Korea.
Or possibly their simply curious if the sample taken in 1904 was ever used for hybridization.
But I mean you'd think most North American species have a pretty good providence. And no species has ever appeared de novo and escaped biologists and the industry.
Ultimately to take this article at face value paints the work of the NIBR as being done by crackpots full of wild eyed conspiracy theories. I would hope the NIBR isn't staffed by wild eyed crackpots.
Do you know kimchi? It is kind of traditional Mediterranean vegetable. Do you have kimchi in your country?
What contribution have kimchi-unenthusiastic Westerners made to the Korean tradition of eating far too spicy food?
For those who have given up guessing, here is a tip ― check your kimchi jjigae.
According to Wikipedia, kimchi is made from cabbage, which is of Mediterranean origin around the 1st century, although most Korean kimchi enthusiasts may be unaware of this.
Nobody is really working hard to have this claim officially recognized, as it would humiliate Korea and possibly cause people to cut off limbs and/or take their own lives in protests across the land to the West of the Sea of Japan with slogans such as: "DO YOU KNOW? Kimchi is Ours!"
Korea's National Food, with its clear leafy pale green composition and rather bitter taste, is just perfect for Korea's only (and rather unfortunate) culinary achievement.
However, not many people know that the vegetable was an indigenous vegetable found only in the Mediterranean.
For their part, no one in the Mediterranean has expressed any desire for reparations for Korea's landmark ingredient because no one really wants to be associated with the dish.
"Have you ever eaten kimchi?" asked one anonymous Mediterranean, "Why would anyone on Earth admit to eating that, let alone boast creating it?!?"
@arvinsign
"-- They look similar "only" to the untrained eye. Thats what science is all about. There's an objective way of measuring/analyzing it. The small differences resulted to what you mentioned as the various "species"."
God that's condescending.
I meant how would they determine that when they didn’t provide any indication of how they did it, or any data to support their claims.
I mentioned that they look the same as that seems to be the only way at this point that they used to determine that it was the same.
@ fattycat
"I meant how would they determine that when they didn’t provide any indication of how they did it, or any data to support their claims.
I mentioned that they look the same as that seems to be the only way at this point that they used to determine that it was the same."
- God you are too sensitive. What i mean is those people in NIBR are more or less trained on aspects of tree identifications. The KT times itself is (maybe) misleading in the story.
- Have you read the actual NIBR report or any formal paper about this to come up with that conclusion as to how they are proving their claims? Or are you just basing your conclusions from the KT article?
@ PW
Thanks for that pdf file. However, what they did in that project is DNA fingerprinting and not DNA sequencing. Its the same methodology used in paternity testing as well as genome mapping. My skepticism is focused on using the DNA sequence to establish lineage or authenticity in this case.
"Ultimately to take this article at face value paints the work of the NIBR as being done by crackpots full of wild eyed conspiracy theories. I would hope the NIBR isn't staffed by wild eyed crackpots."
-- Same thought here. 100% agree
To test if it is the same tree is simple. I am sceptical because I can’t see how they could determine the popularity of " …one of the most popular trees used for this special occasion". How did they determine popularity in order to do the test? Did they do this test only in the USA or was it all countries which celebrate Christmas with a tree? How large was their sample in order to determine that a certain tree was most popular (there are a lot of firs used at Christmas!)? Does the popularity of that tree differ in different regions of the country? Did they test all regions? Is it the same every year? Did they determine popularity based on how often it was sold? What about the people who chop trees down in the forest? Have their conclusions about popularity been replicated by others? etc.
I’m not sure if that popularity can be conclusively determined. If popularity can’t be determined then testing of the tree is pointless (and any results meaningless) since the Korean fir could just be one of many fir trees that could potentially be used at Christmas
The 3 Wise Men, who came from the East (Korea) brought baby Jesus a Christmas tree. It is right there in the Bible,you pagans.
Where do chili peppers come from eh?
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