Sae-KKot-Namu

Last autumn Erma and I learned about the Seodaemun-gu bird, flower, and tree from posters at a building construction site in Shinchon. I was in Shinchon last week and that building is completed, no longer under construction. The signs with the gu (구 區, district) bird, flower, and tree are gone. They are still looking for tenants to fill the building:


Putting district information on construction site walls must be a common practice. Here in my current district, Gwanak-gu, I walked past this building (also visible in this earlier post):


Sure enough, look what's on the wall surrounding the construction site:


I still can't listen or express myself very well, but my Korean is getting good enough that with the aid of a dictionary I can translate these passages with some confidence.

Gu bird:

the magpie that has been viewed as a lucky omen said to deliver good tidings

It is said that this magpie in olden days greeted the learned scholars who crossed the southern divide and entered Hanyang [an old name for Seoul] in order to take the state civil service examination.

Gu flower:

When spring arrives the beauty of the fragrant(?) royal azaleas, the pink flowers that blanket Gwanak Mountain, adorn the season.

In Gwanak District, whose "Gwanak Mountain Royal Azalea Festival" is widely known, you can encounter the royal azaleas everywhere once spring has arrived.

Gu tree: the pine tree that symbolizes resolve and righteous integrity

All the year round growing green, stately and dignified, it has since ancient times come to symbolize the resolve and integrity of gentlemen and ladies.

(I welcome any corrections if I've made mistakes.)

There's some overlap with Seodaemun-gu; both districts have the magpie as their bird. I wouldn't be surprised if every district in the city has the magpie as its bird. They seem to be everywhere. Right near my house is a street named "Magpie Park" (까치공원). Here's a magpie I photographed on the SNU campus.